Both Light and Dark
by RiahEli21
Summary: Elizabeth Black is the daughter of Sirius and muggle-born Melanie, raised by the Malfoys after the imprisonment of her father and death of her mother. Heir to the Black family, Elizabeth is the perfect picture of pureblood royalty but after being sorted into the wrong house, Elizabeth struggles to make new friends, keep old ones and survive the oncoming war.
1. Chapter 1

It was the night of Halloween 1981. Sirius had been acting strange all day, muttering about something feeling "off". Melanie did her best to sooth his fears, but she was a little preoccupied soothing their baby, not even a year old yet, to pay him much mind. Sirius had become increasingly paranoid over the months, distrusting his best mates and wearing holes into their rug. Melanie was so enraptured by the infant swaddled in her arms (she thought the baby looked just like Sirius and it pleased her to no end) that she hadn't even noticed Sirius' sudden departure.

"Look Padfoot, she's smiling!" Melanie exclaimed, whipping around for fear he would miss such an important milestone, but the lack of heavy steps on the rug was deafening. It didn't take her long to piece together where he might have disappeared to. Wormtail. Sirius had been on edge since making him the Potters' secret keeper. He didn't think the mousy little man had the guts to try anything, the way he suspected Remus, but he also hadn't trusted that he would stand up to torture should it come to that. Because of this, Sirius had dropped in on him at random times to see how James was doing. He couldn't very well go check on James himself, he would lead Voldemort right to them.

Melanie sighed, knowing she would have to play peacekeeper between the two, again. Wrapping her sweet little child in a front carrier, Melanie left the house, passing the ward before apparating. She appeared just as she watched Sirius disappear, a look on his face she had never seen before. It screamed of desperation. A quick look around revealed what Sirius had been distressed about. Peter was no where in sight. Her own sense of dread escalating, Melanie did the one thing she knew she shouldn't but was the only logical move.

The moment Melanie appeared in Godrick's Hallow, the small suspicion rearing its head in the back of her mind, the one that she desperately tried to subdue, came to fruition. The dark mark hung like an omen over the Potter's cottage home.

"Sirius," Melanie breathed, forcing her feet forward, faster and faster until she was streaming into the building. Almost immediately Melanie found James. He had been the first line of defense, fallen face first on the floor of their living room. It looked as if he'd been swatted down like a fly. Sirius was there, holding his best mate, disturbingly calm.

"I'll kill him" It was a whisper. Melanie didn't think he'd even been aware of her presence as she knelt next to him.

"L-Lily?" Melanie was barely able to choke out. Sirius didn't acknowledge her inquiry. Maybe he hadn't heard her. "Harry?" She tried again. As if somehow summoned by the softly spoken name, a fierce wail came from upstairs. "Harry!" Melanie took the stairs three at a time in her haste to reach him but the sight at the top of the stairs drew her up short. The door to the room she and Lily had spent days decorating for Harry was blasted in. And in the doorway was Lily. Melanie seemed to choke on her own breath as she struggled to get air into her lungs. Anyone… anyone but her. There was no one in Melanie's life that had been truer, braver or kinder than her oldest friend Lily.

Melanie was drawn out of her shocked grief by another high-pitched wail. "Harry." She collected the boy in her arms. He went willingly, far larger than Elizabeth, he wrapped his arms around Melanie's neck, curling himself around his Godsister and wept. That's when Melanie noticed the scar, almost like a lightening bolt it lanced across the toddler's forehead.

Time passed by in a knotted mess, Melanie wasn't sure if it was seconds or hours when suddenly Hagrid was there.

"Melanie…" the giant began timidly. Remorse coated his vocal cords, making his words sound garbled and harsh. Melanie looked up to meet his eyes. "Pro-Professor Dumbledor wants me to take Harry."

Melanie was having a hard time understanding what he was asking. It took her a moment before she responded, "Where are you taking him?"

"He says I need to take him to live with his aunt and uncle." His tone was gentle, but Melanie flinched.

"But… I'm his Godmother, Sirius and I… we should take care of him. That's what Lily and James would have wanted. Lily's sister was… cruel to her." Lily was the only one out of the pair that had any family left. Voldemort had wiped out nearly the entire Potter line, his cruel way of retaliating against James, who had been a key player in the resistance. He'd even managed to take out most of Lily's, her parents being the most devastating blow. He had taken everything. Melanie's own parents, it had been devastating.

Melanie had spiraled into her own thoughts and didn't put up much of a protest when Hargid drew the baby out of her arms. Dumbledore must have had his reasoning. Honestly, the safest place for Harry to be during the rest of this war was with his muggle relatives that Voldemort probably didn't even know about. She imagined that being the only explanation for their survival when everyone else's families were torn to pieces. Melanie would come collect him when this was all over. She briefly considered sending Elizabeth with him but by the time the thought had fully formulated, Hagrid was already gone. Then she heard the familiar sound of Sirius' motorcycle. That must have been how her spouse had gotten here, Sirius being unable to apparate since his wand was snapped in the last battle.

The thought of Sirius brought Melanie to her senses and she rushed downstairs. She caught a glimpse of Sirius just as he mounted a broom. Melanie swore and muttered, "Accio Lily's broom" before mounting it and following, child tucked tightly against her sternum. Lily's broom was slower than James', James being a seeker and Lily having little interest in Quidditch but Melanie was the better flier, with her background as a chaser. Sirius was a decent flier but he was always in too much trouble to consistently play the sport so he didn't have the practice that Melanie did. He sure did have the desperation though, Melanie thought as she struggled to keep him within her sight.

Melanie wasn't sure how Sirius knew where he was going but she knew what his objective was. Peter Pettigrew. It took a while, flying at breakneck speed, before Sirius had apparently found him. Melanie had lost sight of him for a while before she rounded a corner and reared up sharply. Sirius and Peter stood in the middle of a muggle road. They didn't look terribly out of place, as it was Halloween and most people were dressed up, but Melanie suspected the muggles could sense the danger in the air, as most of them clung to the sidewalks.

"Sirius!" Melanie called, in an effort to prevent him from doing something he'd regret. Sirius whipped his head up to look over Peter's shoulder, shocked at the sight of his wife and their 11 month old baby. Peter used the distraction to his advantage.

"Sirius Black betrayed the Potters!" Peter called and then everything exploded. Melanie met Sirius' eyes, a look of denial in them. Melanie acted on pure maternal instinct as she whipped her body around and used every ounce of magic in her being to throw up a shield around the bundle in her arms. Making it big enough for both of them wasn't even a thought in her mind, Elizabeth being her only and final thought.

"We begin overseeing the case of the custody of Elizabeth Black, father Sirius Black imprisoned for the murder of one Peter Pettigrew as well as 13 muggles, mother Melanie Black née Parks deceased, godparents James and Lilian Potter also deceased. Step forth those who petition for guardianship." The high judge's voice droned in boredom as Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonka stepped forward.

"You may begin your defense, Mrs. Malfoy," the judge invited. Narcissa smoothed her robes and gazed around at the jury regally.

"As you all know, my husband is Lucius Malfoy, a family dating back centuries, one of equal reputation to the Noble house of Black, my own family. As such we can provide the child with the proper means she deserves, being the last surviving Black. My cousin Sirius and I were close growing up. We drifted apart as he delved further into the dark arts but I know back when he was still a reputable member of our family, he would have wanted me to raise his daughter with our traditional values. Where Sirius has failed the Black line, I know with a proper upbringing that Elizabeth will bring honor back to her house. Furthermore, my son Draco is just a few months older than Elizabeth and I know they will grow to love each other as siblings. My sister Andromeda, bless her heart, has been cast from the Black family, has brought dishonor on her heritage. She has neither the means, as her husband has not the income to support another mouth to feed, and no inheritance. Everything that is left of the Black family will be willed to Elizabeth. Andromeda might attempt to take advantage of the child, given the direness of her situation, and poor innocent Elizabeth would be none the wiser. What does a one year old know of inheritance?"

The court room was silent. Narcissa had made some truly nasty personal attacks. Andromeda was flushed an angry red. Despite this, she rose with elegance and a calm expression; after all, they were raised by the same mother.

"I wish to counter my _dear_ sister's defense." She stated, a delicate sneer on her face. "It is true that I was cast from the Black family tree. My crime? Marrying the man I loved, a muggle born, which happens to be the same crime that my cousin Sirius was cast out for. I was very close to Sirius, always had been and that didn't change like it did for the rest of my family. I truly believe he would wish his daughter to be raised by me, with our shared values."

"Your argument is to align yourself with a mass murderer?" Narcissa laughed harshly. "If anything we should do the opposite as Sirius wishes, the man was obviously paranoid and dangerous, a secret servant to the Dark Lord all along. Only a heartless man would be able to pull off such a great betrayal."

"Sirius loved Lily and James, he would never have betrayed them. And you're one to talk, your spouse has been doing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's bidding for ages now." Andromeda countered. Narcissa took a menacing step forward.

"Lucius had been under the Imperius curse, he has been cleared of all charges. To question his innocence is to question the authority of the Prime Minister himself. I will not have you run down our reputation like that. The Malfoy family has done wonderful things for the Wizarding world at large, you have no right-"

"That's enough, ladies." The judge dropped his gavel. "I hereby award custody of Elizabeth black to Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy. Court dismissed."

Most jaws in the room fell open at the rushed and blatantly biased ruling. Narcissa smirked triumphantly before heading off to collect her new ward.

"It's missing something." Aunt Cissy's reflection was visible in the mirror behind me. I had just finished pinning my hair just so and frowned, distressed over what I could have overlooked. My midnight hair was straightened into a smooth cascade down my shoulders with various pieces pinned in the current fashion. My make up was not heavily applied, except for my red lipstick that created a striking juxtaposition to my pale skin. The dress I wore was a simple, for me anyways, black cocktail dress, which was the appropriate attire for a semiformal dinner party, and my feet were robed in strappy black heels. I stared at my reflection in concentration. Of course I could see every flaw in myself, I, being my own worst critic. But as to what Auntie had pointed out, I had no idea.

Aunt Narcissa gave a knowing, maternal smile. "I think I've figured out what it is." She approached me from behind and wiped my hair to one side before reaching around and clasping something around my neck. "There we are. Now you're perfect." She smiled at me fondly. I reached up to gently touch the Sapphire necklace. It was hung on a delicate silver chain and settled right between my collar bones.

"Auntie, it's stunning."

"This was a gift from my mother on the eve of my eleventh birthday. I know you are not quite 11 yet but I figured, as you are going off to Hogwarts soon, you should have a piece of Black jewelry to accompany you."

Being careful not to smear my makeup or ruin my hair, I embraced my aunt tightly. Cissy chuckled. "I'm glad you like it." Black women did not need to say much to convey their feelings. In a society where words are used as weapons and, more often than not completely fabricated, a person's body language is the most effective means of communication and I imagined Cissy knew how much I appreciated the gesture by the soft smile and proud shoulders. "Come now, our guests will have started arriving."

I joined my family in the parlor to greet our guests. Draco was already there, looking smart in his three piece and Lucius looking intimidating in nearly the same attire. I quickly joined Draco where he was conversing with the Notts, father and son.

"Theodore here already knows exactly how to succeed at Hogwarts as a Slytherin." Nott senior bragged. Theo squirmed under his praise though he hid it well. It was only because we were old, close friends that I noticed and sympathized.

"Draco seems to think he's already been sorted. His entire bedroom is green." I smirked, Draco fired me a look but Mr. Nott chuckled.

"It is alright to be proud, boy, it is a great and noble house. Speaking of great and noble, Lucius, how wonderful to see you." Smooth as a snake Mr. Nott slid further in the room to take up conversation with the adults. Once he was out of sight, Draco threw me a sharp elbow.

"What was that for?" I protested.

"For making me sound like an over-eager child."

"You are an over-eager child."

"Well you don't have to point it out to people."

I chuckled in reply and turned to Theo. "So how has your summer been?"

At some point Draco drifted off to join his other friends. Theo and I retreated to the quiet of the corner of the sitting room while we regaled each other on the adventures of our summer. Theo' s was much more exciting than mine as his father travels for a living. They get to go see all kinds of exotic places, some of which I had never even heard of, whereas the most exciting place I ever visit is France.

"Why am I not surprised to find you hiding in a dark corner, Elizabeth Black?" A voice drawled and I smirked.

"Severus, I imagine I hide for the same reasons as you." I quipped. Theo ducked out of our alcove, Severus terrified him for some reason.

"And what would that be, pray tell?" Severus watched Theo scurry off with a look of disdain.

"To maintain my complexion of course. You don't stay this pale standing directly under lights."

Severus snorted in spite of himself, apparently not having expected my joke. With no way to recover he lifted his nose in the air in an accurate impression of Lucius. "That will be Professor Snape to you soon, young lady."

"Oh! Did you get the defense against dark arts position?!"

Severus' expression darkened. "No, Dumbledore has appointed some stuttering fool in my stead, he claims I am needed in the position of Potions Master. I can't imagine having a competent potions master is more important than having a competent defense teacher. Blubbering idiot is afraid of his own shadow."

I allowed Severus a moment of righteous indignation before approaching the subject that had been weighing on my mind lately. "Sev- Professor Snape… what happens if I'm not sorted into Slytherin?"

Severus studied me for a minute before apparently deciding that I was genuinely distressed over the idea. "Did you know your mother was a Hufflepuf?" he asked.

"Really?" I raised my brow in interest. My parents weren't discussed very often, especially not my mother because she was muggle born. But I knew Severus had agreed to be my godfather when I was adopted because of his fondness of my mother. I knew he was equally disinclined because of his relationship with my father.

"She was. Honestly, your mother could have easily been sorted into any house. She had the wit and cunning of a Slytherin, the intelligence and work ethic of a Ravenclaw, and the courage of a Gryffindor. I think the reason she was sorted Huffllepuf was because above all she was exceedingly loyal and all in all a genuinely good person. Even after Lily… even when no one else wanted to be friends with me, your mother was still there. Once you form a friendship with a Hufflepuf there are very few things you can do to break it. And trust me, I did plenty to dissolve that friendship, if not entirely on purpose."

I sat in silence for a moment, pride and fondness of my mother filling me. It was very rare when even Severus talked about her, I treasured every word.

"Your father, on the other hand, was a Gryffindor in every sense of the word." He sneered then seemed to notice my expression, though I had know idea what my face showed, and his expression softened.

"Though you may look like your father," his nose wrinkled in distaste. "You have your mother's spirit."

It was the greatest compliment I had ever received. I swallowed against the knot in my throat and did my best to compose myself. In an attempt to draw the conversation away and control my emotions, I blurted, "It's just that yellow isn't really my color."

Severus stared at me as if I was insane before seeming to understand. "Well yes, I suppose yellow would look horrendous on me as well."

I almost cried in mirth at the image of dark and gloomy Severus in happy-go-lucky yellow. "I don't know sir, it might bring out the yellow undertones of your skin."

"You can talk, your skin is nearly the same shade as mine." He countered.

I held up my hand and pretended to examine it. "You know, you're right. If I stopped taking care of my hair for a few days and walked around with a sour expression on my face, we'd look nearly identical."

"Not all of us can spend six hours a day combing our hair. Some of us have better things to do." He said snidely.

"Oh yes? Like inventorying frog legs?"

"I'll have you know, Melanie, I quite-" Severus stopped short. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

I waved him off. "It's okay. I miss her too."

Severus looked like he might have said something before Aunt Narcissa swooped in on us. "It does not do for a lady of the host family to act as a wallflower, Elizabeth. Go ask Theodore to dance." She scolded. The Malfoys have been pushing a marriage with Theo for as long as I could remember. He was, as Lucius put it, "a boy of fine breeding." Meaning he was a pureblood and they were trying to restore the reputation of the Black line. Honestly though, unlike the other girls my age, I wasn't terribly boy crazy. I mean I was only 10, I had plenty of time to worry about that later. The other girls never shut up about Draco though, it was really quite tiresome.

My peers all stood in a gaggle on the other side of the room. I breached the crowd in a poor imitation of my aunt, trying to mirror her effortless grace but feeling like I fell short.

"I just think, if you're part Veela, you really can't be held to the same standards of beauty-"

"The Cannons have no chance against the Magpies this year. They have shotty beaters, subpar chasers and-"

"Seriously though, you can't wear green robes with a red hat, it just-"

"Antonio Bravo is the best seeker in Quidditch history-"

The girls and boys of the group were holding two separate conversations in close quarters and it was difficult to follow either of them. It turned out to be unnecessary when the girls noticed me.

"Elizabeth! Your dress is so pretty!" Pansy squealed.

"How do you get your hair so straight?!" Daphne reached out to touch my hair. I did my best not to flinch.

"I could never pull off that shade of red." Tracy gushed.

It took all my power not to roll my eyes. The girls were always like this. I assumed they thought being nice to me would endear them to Draco, or at least get them closer to him. It didn't seem to be of any use. Draco really could care less who was gushing over my appearance, if anything it probably annoyed him almost as much as it annoyed me.

"Yes, you're so beautiful Elizabeth, we are but mere humans placed in this earth to revere in the light of your grace." Draco drawled. I raised an eyebrow in amusement. It was actually a fairly eloquent dig and I could respect that.

"But Draco, I don't even hold a candle to the ethereal beauty that is this hair!" I quickly reached up to ruffle his hair, yanking my arm back before he could inflict damage in retaliation. To violate his hair is to commit the most treacherous of sins. "Theo, would you care to accompany me on the dance floor?" I asked, hoping to make a quick escape as Draco drew his wand. Theo hastily complied, drawing me out into the crowd in a fluid motion, swinging me into the middle of a dance flawlessly. We fell into a familiar routine, one beat into all of the pureblooded kids.

"I don't know whether to applaud you or berate you." Theo commented.

"Probably both." I smirked.

"What did Snape want?" His eyes tracked my Godfather, presumably, over my shoulder.

"We just talked about Hogwarts mostly. Houses and what not." I shrugged nonchalantly.

Theo looked at me for a moment before moving on. "Do you think you'll get sorted into Slytherin? I mean, you're not actually a…"

"A pureblood?" I raised an eyebrow. "I know… I just, I don't think the Malfoys will want to keep me if I'm not sorted into Slytherin." And there it was. It slipped out, without my consent, laid out and bare for Theo to see. I couldn't stand the pity in his eyes. "Forget I said anything, they're my family, of course they won't get rid of me over a stupid sorting."

"It's okay to be afraid, you know."

I gave him a humorless look. "I'm not afraid, Theodore. And besides, all my aunt and uncle really care about, in terms of my blood status, is that I marry you."

I succeeded in making him uncomfortable. I watched as he looked across the room back at our group of friends and felt a little guilty for bringing it up. We didn't really talk about our family's plans for us. He was embarrassed about it and we didn't feel that way about each other anyways, I suspected Theo never would.

Most of the rest of the night was spent on the dance floor with extended silence. I told myself it would be better when we all got to school.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone, I apologize for taking so long to update. I'm active duty and so I go periods of time without service. I hope you'll be patient and stick with me anyways. I have big plans for this story. This chapter has some content straight from the original work, I'm trying to keep things as canon as possible. Just putting a disclaimer up there, this is JK Rowling's brain child. I would never even think to take credit for her brilliance so just know it's there. Thank you all. Please comment and critique, I'm trying to grow as a writer and a story teller. Thank you!**

The day after the party we planned to visit Diagon Alley for some last minute shopping before heading to Hogwarts. I was beyond excited. Every time we went to Diagon Alley it was like there was something new to discover, a new smell, a new flavor of ice cream, a new sound even. The magic of it was beautiful and abundant with bodies flowing in streams like schools of fish. I could barely sleep that night, the anticipation a steel drum in my ear, my heart fluttering to match it.

"Lucius, here's the book list, I'll go start looking at wands, you two go get fitted at Madam Malkins' then meet me at Ollivander's." Narcissa ordered as she dusted some floo powder off of Draco's robes.

"Mum, can't I go look at broomsticks first? I don't want to start my day with some cranky old lady poking needles into my ankles." Draco whined.

"We don't have much time before Grandmother and Grandfather Malfoy get here for dinner so we need to do this quickly. If you go on and finish your errands without dallying we'll buy you a new broom." Narcissa appeased.

"Alright! Come, Elizabeth, daylight is burning." Draco grabbed my hand and dragged me in the direction of the robe shop. "I can't wait to pick out a new broom, it's so unfair we can't take it with us. Who would make such a dumb rule anyways? It has too be that fool Dumbledore, Father says he's a loony old bat." Draco prattled on and on as we half walked/ half sprinted down the alley. I tuned him out after a minute or so.

"Ah, Mister Malfoy, Miss Black. It's a pleasure to see you as always. Finally starting at school this year, eh?" Madam Malkin greeted upon our entry into her shop. We knew the drill, having been fit for robes here many times in the past.

"It's a pleasure to see you as well, Madam. How has your summer fared?" I made polite conversation as I took my stand on the podium.

"Who cares about her summer. Make this fast, we haven't much time." Draco snapped. Madam Malkin raised her nose in the air, miffed at his disrespect.

After finding a school robe near Draco's size, Madam Malkin began pinning it to accommodate for his new height when a boy our age walked in. He was small in stature with dark hair and green eyes hidden behind dorky glasses. He was wearing grubby clothes that appeared several sizes too big. I almost scoffed aloud at his audacity to come to such an establishment dressed as a homeless muggle, but managed to curb my tongue and not say anything. He was clearly muggle born, no wizard in their right mind would dress as such. Draco didn't seem to notice, or care.

"Hello, Hogwarts, too?" Draco asked, having been in a fine mood since Aunt Narcissa promised him a broom. I wouldn't be surprised if he chatted up a lamp post, in how excited he was.

"Yes," the boy answered.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands. Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own." Draco complained for the umpteenth time. I rolled my eyes. "I think when mum buys me a new one I'll smuggle it in somehow." He'd probably get away with it too. "Have you got your own broom?"

"No," was the short answer once again. I couldn't decide if the boy was shy or rude. I supposed Draco didn't leave much room for more than a word or two in response to his incessant prattling.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No."

"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" Again with the houses. I shifted anxiously.

"No." The boy sounded somewhat anxious. Maybe he felt the anxiety I do over the house system.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" Draco drawled, giving me a sideways look. I answered with a scathing glare.

"Mmm," said the boy diplomatically. I didn't blame him. Most people, especially muggle-borns, didn't have the kind of house prejudice that Draco and the rest of the pureblood society held.

"I say, look at that man!" Draco explained, pointing at a giant, though a small one, grinning and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid, he works at Hogwarts." The boy sounded pleased.

"Oh, I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," the boy corrected, a note of steel in his voice. I peered at him. How did a muggle-born come to know the groundskeeper of all people? I was intrigued by the boy, despite his grubby attire, at the backbone I'd glimpsed.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." Draco recalled a story passed on by our godfather Severus.

"I think he's brilliant," said the boy coldly.

"Do you?" Draco sneered. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," was the short, toneless answer.

"Oh, sorry," Draco lacked empathy.

"My mum's dead too." I told the boy without really thinking about it. His gaze slipped over to me for the first time. I wonder if he realized I was even there. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't.

"What about your dad?" He asked.

"I'd rather he be. My father is the worst sort of man there is, he's a traitor and a coward." The words tumbled out of my mouth of their own violation. My face flamed red at having revealed such a personal detail to a complete stranger. An awkward pause followed before Draco broke it.

"At least they were our kind, weren't they?" He asked the boy. As much as I hated the subject of blood purity, mostly because it almost always led to my lack of it, I was glad for the diversion of his attention away from me and my tasteless confession.

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." He answered uncertainly.

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?" Draco prattled.

"Don't mind my prat of a cousin, he only parrots what is said to him. These aren't his real opinions." I interrupted, trying to save the boy from embarrassment. Draco was clueless if he hadn't figured out this boy was muggle born by now. The look he sent me promised retribution.

"That's you done, my dear," Madam Malkin told the boy, who stepped down quickly, eager to leave.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," drawled Draco, attempting to recover from his embarrassment from my comment. The boy fled and the moment he was gone Draco stabbed me in the arm with a pushpin.

"Why would you say those things?" He shot.

I shrugged. "Because they were true."

"I am not a parrot and your father was not a coward. He did the Dark Lord's bidding and landed himself in Azkaban, and a good thing too because otherwise you would have been a disgrace to your family like he was."

"You watch your mouth, Draco. You don't even understand what your saying. That's almost word for word what your father said, Parrot. Don't talk about things you can't possibly comprehend." I spat at him heatedly. "What you said to that boy was rude and inconsiderate. Are you really so daft you couldn't tell he was muggleborn?"

"Well, then, he deserved to hear those things. He'll find out real soon how the wizarding world works, and where his place is in it. Just like you should know where yours is."

"I can't believe you." They were the last words I spoke to him until we arrived at Platform 9¾ a month later.

"Theo!" I greeted my friend. "How was the rest of your summer? Did you enjoy Bulgaria?"

Theo had sent me owls during his travels, letters and pictures cataloging his adventures. He sent trinkets and gifts and I liked to imagine I was there with him on every adventure, far away from the house I presided in that barely tolerated me.

The last month of my summer was long and dreary. Draco got the new broom he wanted and nearly always had friends over to play Quidditch. I was obliged to play by Narcissa, who refused to let me wallow in my bedroom, and Draco took the opportunity to convince Crabbe and Goyle to pummel me with a bludger. Joke was on them because I became a faster chaser for it, my skills having improved drastically over the summer.

"Bulgaria was beautiful. Very exotic." Theo answered, leading me to the compartment we would share with all of our friends. "How did yours go?"

"I haven't been talking to Draco." I admitted.

"Why? You two are good friends." Theo gave a concerned look as he raised my trunk into the overhead compartment. I gave him a small grateful smile.

"He went on a rant about blood purity and my father and knowing my place."

Theo's lips twisted. "He doesn't know any better. Imagine being fed that kind of bull all your life, he's been taught to think he's better than everyone, especially you. That's why it's good he has you, to give him a reality check and keep him somewhat humble. Don't just abandon him like that. He's basically your brother." Theo explained rationally, in a way that made me feel a little guilty for having been so short tempered. "Trust me, I understand better than anyone what it's like to be brainwashed by pureblood elitists, my father travels the world to be told how important and pure he is. Hell, if I didn't have you to knock my head in, I'd be worse than Draco." He gave me a dashing smile that I couldn't help but return.

"You are quite welcome." I teased and swatted at his head before growing serious. "But you're right. I should talk to Draco."

"Atta girl. Don't be long. I've got a game of exploding snap. Double or nothing from last time, yeah?"

"You're on." I shook on the deal then went out to the isle where Draco was blocking the way for other first years trying to find a place to sit.

"Hey Draco, can I talk to you?" I began. Draco peered at me for a moment, as if trying to determine my intentions.

"I suppose." He left Crabbe and Goyle and joined me in an empty compartment. "Does this mean you're talking to me again?" He acted as if he didn't care one way or another, buffing his nails on his robes.

"Yes. I'm sorry for being petty. And I shouldn't have said those things about you. I know you're capable of forming your own opinions."

Draco sat for a moment, as if waiting for my apology to sink in before sighing. "I'm sorry too. I know how you feel about your father and I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm honestly a little surprised you said that stuff to that kid though, it was really out of character."

"Yeah, I don't really understand it either. Maybe it was because he was muggle born and had no idea who my father was, I felt like I needed to tell him who he really is before he finds out on his own through someone else."

"Why would he care who your father is anyways? Or our aunt Bella, you have to accept that we have a lot of people in our family who have done things you might not be proud of. Father's done lots of things." Draco shrugged.

"He was under the imperius curse." I countered.

"That's what he tells people anyways."

"Wait, do you mean-"

"Forget I said anything. This doesn't leave us."

"Does this mean all is forgiven?" I ask.

"There's nothing to forgive. You'll always be my favorite cousin." Draco smirked.

"And you, mine." I wrapped him in a hug before he could protest.

"Malfoy! Did you hear, Harry Potter is on the train?!" Blaise barged into the compartment.

"No way! I've got to see this for myself! Are you coming, Elizabeth?" Malfoy nearly bolted out of the compartment, pausing to look back at me.

"No, I promised Theo a game of exploding snap. You go ahead." I answered.

"Alright, well I've got next round against winner."

"Deal." And with that he was gone, his goons trailing behind him like always. I walked back to join Theo.

Harry Potter. The truth was I didn't want to meet him. I didn't know if I could face him. Of course, I knew all about the Boy Who Lived. Our pasts were entwined into an intricate web of lies, deceit and death. It was because of my father that he had no parents. I didn't want to look the boy, who wound up an orphan because my own blood, the blood that courses through my veins, in the eye.

It was a long trip to Scotland, made worse by the fact that Draco was in a sour mood over the famous Harry Potter's rejection.

"It was the boy in the robe shop." Draco had whispered to me. "The muggleborn trailing the oaf of a gamekeeper." I had felt my blood leave my face and pool in my stomach. The boy Draco had made all those comments about blood purity to, the boy I told about my own parents. I wanted to stay on the train when it finally came to a stop and ride it all the way back to London. How could I have been such a fool? He had to be laughing at me, roiling in hatred. Why he didn't attack me that day is beyond me. Maybe he didn't recognize me for who I was.

I was forced off the train by Draco and Theo, who caught me when I tried to sneak into the loo just prior to arrival. Once I was off and faced with he looming structure that was Hogwarts all of my stressed left me, replaced by awe. I'd heard all about Hogwarts, so much so that I felt like I'd already been there before but that was far from the case. Nothing can compare to being faced with it in real life. It was awe-inspiring. I was stunned speechless and immobile.

There to greet us was none other than the gamekeeper himself, though for the life of me I couldn't remember his name. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" I followed along with everyone else and climbed into a small boat. It took us across a great lake to the castle, leading them through a tunnel under it and into an opening inside the great structure, where we disembarked.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said the giant, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried a heavy-set boy blissfully, holding out his hands.

We clambered up a passageway in the rock after the gamekeeper's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. Then we walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" the giant raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once.

A tall, black-haired, stern-looking witch in emerald-green robes stood there.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the giant.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. Ah, that's what his name was. I best not forget it again.

We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor of the entrance hall into a small, empty chamber off the hall. We crowded in, standing rather closer together than we would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." She left the chamber. I glanced down at myself, righting my robes and made a slight adjustment to my hair. It would not do to look less that 100% at my first impression.

A few people around me gasped and I looked up to see what had taken them by surprise. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at us. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." I peered at the friar in interest. The ghost would have known my mother then.

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." Doing as instructed, we walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

I'd heard of the enchantments on the great hall, even seen something similar at a ball once, but nothing compared to the sight that met me on the other side of those doors. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.

Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that we came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind us.

The hundreds of faces staring at us looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.

"Abbott, Hannah!" A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down.

A moments pause - "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. The Fat Friar waving merrily at her. I had a feeling I was about to follow her there.

"Black, Elizabeth!" A hush met the name, raising goosebumps on my skin. I shakily made my way onto the stage. When I turned around, the first eyes I met were green and peered at me through round lenses. Though there didn't seem to be any hate in his gaze, I gulped, sweat emerging at my hairline.

Professor McGonagall placed the hat on my head and I let the brim fall over my eyes, to block out the stares from everyone around me.

"Well, well, well. Miss Black. What a mess of a mind you have, tangled and frayed, it's difficult to understand you. Take a deep breath and relax." An unattached voice floated into my ear. My pulse quickened but then I understood what it said and did my best to relax, taking a few deep breaths. "There, that's better. My, was a conundrum you are dear girl! So much like your mother and yet so much like my father."

"I'm nothing like my father." I grit out.

The hat gave a wistful sigh. "You are more alike him than you know. If only you understood the truth, but alas, it is not my place to tell you. I believe the only way for you to figure it out for yourself would be to place you in Gryffindor!" The last word was shouted for all to hear.


	3. Chapter 3

**To make up for taking so long before. Again, anything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling, not me.**

"Gryffindor!" Around me, the hall was filled with deafening silence. I don't know if it was because I couldn't hear anything over the roar in my ears or if I'd shocked everyone speechless. When the hat was lifted off of my head I peered out to see a room full of frozen faces. I met the eyes of the person whose reaction I dreaded most, Draco. He looked as if he literally couldn't comprehend it. The blankness in his eyes bore the signs of not being able to compute or accept what was just said.

A polite clap was started by Professor McGonagall and picked up by a few of the students but most just sat in awkward silence as the stern Deputy headmistress urged me down the step and to the Gryffindor table, my house table. Next to join me at the table was Lavender Brown, who trembled with nerves but received a much warmer welcome than I, despite the similarity of our names. Next was Seamus Finnigan, then Hermione Granger, who was the first to sit next to me after the other side of the table nearly filled.

"I'm Hermione Granger." She introduced unnecessarily, holding out her hand, as if her name wasn't just announced to the entire school mere seconds ago.

"Elizabeth Black." I shook her offered hand.

"Could you imagine anything so magical existing? It's difficult to wrap my mind around." She stared about fantastically.

Despite being raised around magic and growing up in a beautiful manor, I couldn't help but agree. "Fearsomely magical."

Hermione gave me a friendly smile and I couldn't help but return it, grateful that at least someone acknowledged my presence. Neville Longbottom joined us and began chatting with Hermione about the lost toad he'd recovered, thanking her for her efforts in finding it. Much like Harry Potter, I had a hard time making eye contact with Neville Longbottom, who was in nearly the same position as the Boy Who Lived, except that it was because of my aunt, rather than my father. And I imagined Neville's fate may have been even worse, to still have parents but to have them not even remember him, barely able to communicate. Lucius had made comments and snickered about the Longbottom's who had been tortured daft and the conversations nearly always made me vomit.

My head hung as my best friends, Draco and Theo were sorted into Slytherin. I knew there wasn't much to do about Draco, he'd been bred into a society of Slytherin's and took their philosophies to heart, and brave was not the first adjective I would use to describe him (though neither was it to describe me) but Theo I thought had a shot at joining me. He wasn't as deeply rooted into pureblood society and he was the bravest person I knew, wrangling dragons in Italy and outsmarting trolls in Bulgaria. If anything, he deserved to be here more than I. I was starting to think the sorting hat had grown senile. He had to be to sort my coward of a father into this house.

Finally, it was Harry Potter's turn. The hat took a long time with him and Harry seemed to be having a conversation with the headwear. As I had a feeling it would, as most Potters were sorted here in generations past, the hat's announcement of "Gryffindor!" was met with deafening applause.

"We got Potter! We got Potter!" Shouted red headed twins, who I had to assume were Weasleys, their reputation in the Wizarding World preceding them, and not kindly. At least not according to my uncle, who worked with their father and only had nasty things to say about them.

The last two took their places on the stool, another Weasley named Ronald was sorted into Gryffindor, and Blaise was sent to Slytherin with the rest of my friends, then Professor Dumbledore made his remarks and the feast began. I picked at my food, not having much of an appetite, while everyone around me gorged themselves and carried on polite conversation.

At one point, Longbottom regaled, "Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

After that I anxiously moved food around my plate until it was finally time to retire to bed. Percy Weasley, the Prefect, led us out of the Hall and up to Gryffindor tower, climbing endless stairs, being interrupted by the mischievous poltergeist, Peeves, before finally reaching a portrait of a fat lady.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. We all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found ourselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs. Percy directed the girls through one door to our dormitory and the boys through another.

At the top of a spiral staircase - they were obviously in one of the towers - we found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Our trunks had already been brought up.

"Wow! How amazing is this?!" Hermione ran across the room, joining the other girls in checking out the bathroom. I didn't want to join them, I could only imagine what state my hair was in. I didn't think I could handle the embarrassment of that on top of everything else. My dorm mates were Hermione, Lavender Brown, one of the Patil twins (though I forget which) and Fay Dunbar. I didn't give them much heed though, nor they I, as I went about my evening routine silently and then curled up in the small bed. What a day.

Classes the next day were long and arduous after a fitful night's sleep. I had nearly as hard a time finding my classes as everyone else did, Hermione and I getting lost and/or misdirected several times before each class but we stuck with it and managed to make them all on time, much to her relief. Hermione was very serious about her studies, I discovered. She was very intriguing to me, being muggleborn and yet seeming to know just as much if not more about the Wizarding world as I did. I stared in wonder as she answered questions in class that I couldn't even answer, despite my years of formal teaching by a very expensive and prestigious tutor. I felt suddenly ashamed, here was a girl who had to work hard for her knowledge while I, despite my privileged upbringing, would fall behind for lack of work ethic. It was inspiring, really. I would need to think about how I approached these classes, they might not be as easy as I imagined them to be.

Whispers followed me down the halls nearly as much as they did Harry. "What's she doing here?" "I don't know how she can even bear to show her face here." "And Gryffindor of all places?"

I did my best to ignore them, sticking close to Hermione, who didn't probe me about the things they were saying. The only comment she made of the subject was, "Don't let them get to you, they don't even know who you are." The truth was she didn't know who I was. I sat next to the girl-genius in all my classes except Potions at the end of the week, where she instead joined Fay at her beckoning, giving me a sympathetic smile. I took the only seat that was still available, next to Neville Longbottom.

Gulping down my anxiety, I moved to sling my bag across the chair and took a seat.

"Neville Longbottom." The boy greeted friendly. I gave him my best ice-queen glare, not trusting my voice to speak. It seemed to do the trick because he stared back at the front after that. It's better that he learned to hate me now rather than down the road.

Sev- Professor Snape began the class with roll call. He didn't pause on my name but shot me a covert encouraging smile, as he did when he reached Draco.

"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity." He said when he reached Harry's name. Draco and his goons sniggered behind their hands.

Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but we caught every word, "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." More silence followed this little speech.

Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. I think Severus would be surprised and impressed by the muggleborn girl, as he was in nearly the same situation as she, with the same drive to learn and thirst for knowledge.

"Potter!" said Professor Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry glanced at the Weasley, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air. "I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything." He ignored Hermione's hand. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat. "I don't know, sir." Harry answered again. It didn't seem fair for Severus to pick on him, and it was a little out of character from the Severus I knew. I hoped he wasn't a completely different person in this teaching role than he was in his role as my godfather.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Silence. Hermione's hand quivered. I watched the scene like a pedestrian watches a broom accident, with rapt attention but helpless to interfere. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" A few people laughed, myself included.

"Sit down," Severus snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment.

Over the noise, Severus said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

Professor Snape put us all into pairs, myself with Neville, and set us to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching us weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Draco and I, though he did berate Neville for a mistake I failed to catch him from making and I gave Longbottom an apologetic glance.

He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke clouded my vision and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt our cauldron into a twisted blob, and our potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes.

Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. I wrenched back, having caught some to the arm and cried out. Severus raced to my side to check that I hadn't been severely wounded.

"Idiot boy!" he snarled, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. "Both of you, to the hospital wing, now!" I obeyed quickly, following Longbottom out of the dungeon.

"I'm so sorry, Eli. I just got confused." Neville stuttered. I shot him a glare.

"My name is Elizabeth. If my parents wanted me to be called Eli they would have named me so." I think it was more the pain speaking than any real anger at Longbottom. "It's fine, I should have caught it before you did it. I know that potion by heart and I guess I got a little complacent."

We continued onto the hospital wing in silence then waited at the edge of separate beds while Madam Pomfrey tended to others, mostly first years who fell for a trick step and sprained an ankle, or walked straight into a door, giving themselves dual black eyes.

Neville started chatting amicably, making jokes at his own expense, seeming to try to make me feel better.

"Don't you know who I am? Who my family is?" I turned on him. His smile dropped.

"Of course I know who you are."

"Then why are you being so nice to me? After what my blood has done to you?"

"Your blood, not you. We're not our family. Everyone has power over their own destiny and a child doesn't inherit their parents' mistakes." It was strange to hear something so serious and profound come out of such a silly boy's mouth. But Neville knows real pain, he understands real suffering. And it only makes sense that he would try to cover it up by being silly.

"The hat said I was just like him." I admitted. "Do you think I'm destined to betray those I love most?"

"Not everyone is all bad, in the same that not everyone is all good. Maybe you are somewhat like him." Neville said gently, understanding that I was referring to my father. "And maybe that's not such a bad thing. You have control over your own heart and your own purpose."

I sat in silence for a moment, thinking about what he said. Maybe he was right, maybe the sorting hat was on to something. I could have been put here to atone for the sins of my blood, to right the wrongs of my family. Is it a coincidence that all three of us wound up in the same house, in the same year.

Almost as if reading my mind, Neville said, "The three of us aren't so different, you, Harry, and I. Because of one man, all three of us grew up without their parents. Who had it better or worse is still to be determined, you being raised with privilege and prestige but by dark wizards who dog you about your birth status, me getting to see my parents every day but not have them recognize me, or Harry who grew up blissfully ignorant of the Wizarding world and his part in it but went underfed and unloved. We're all linked together by sheer circumstance and it'll do us no good to dwell on what happened and what could have been. We need to think about the here and now and move on."

Neville's words lingered with me as I went about the rest of my day. After being treated in the hospital wing I swung back around to the dungeons to see Severus.

"Are you alright?" The stern professor asked when I entered his classroom.

"Yes, I'm fine. It was an oversight on my part." I admitted. Severus twisted his lips in distaste.

"You shouldn't work with Longbottom anymore, he'll drag your grade down. Why don't you partner with Draco?"

"Draco will probably never talk to me again." I answered gloomily, taking a seat at one of the tables. Severus leaned up against it and studied me.

"Why do you say that? He's your cousin."

"A cousin who was raised to loathe Gryffindor's. I've been indoctrinated into the lion's den, literally and figuratively. How could this happen?! I'm nothing like them! They don't even like me. I've lost all my old friends. What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, have you tried talking to Draco?"

"Uh, I mean, not exactly…" I twisted my fingers anxiously.

"And why not?"

"Because I know exactly what he'll say, 'good riddance, finally I'm rid of you." I imitated Draco's drawling voice.

"You know that's not how he feels about you. What about Theo?"

I sighed wistfully. Maybe Theo would forgive me but I couldn't imagine eve if he did that our friendship would stay the same as it was.

"Do you still love me, Severus? Even though I'm on the side of your enemies?" I asked in a small voice instead of answering his question.

"I will always love you, Elizabeth Black, no matter what. And they're not my enemies. In fact, one of my best friends was a Gryffindor."

"Lily?" I offered. Severus gave me a surprised look.

"How would you know that?"

"You forget how well I know you, God father. I hear even the things you don't say." I admitted. Severus gave me a small indulgent smile.

"You're too clever for your own good." He said to which I answered with a smirk, before it fell.

"Is that why you were so hard on Harry? Because of who his mother is?" I asked.

Severus stared at me for a moment before sighing. "I guess I was hard on him, wasn't I? He's just so much like his father. His mother was so brilliant and motivated, she would have gotten every one of those answers correct. His father was lazy and entitled, much like his son seems to be. I guess it's just hard to see so much of him and so little of her."

I regretted asking when I saw the look on Severus' face. He loved her. It was different than how he talked of my mum. I knew that I looked, and according to the sorting hat, acted much more like my father and I knew Severus loathed him, yet he didn't hold it against me. Harry, on the other hand, was the walking embodiment of Severus' lost love. I could only imagine how hard that must be on him.

"Go on and talk to your cousin. Trust me, friends are worth keeping. Don't let it fall apart because of house rivalries." Severus squeezed my shoulder, which was akin to a bear hug for the two of us, with how little we liked physical affection. I looked at Severus as more of a father than I did anyone, my uncle, my real father. It was Severus who has been there for me, time and time again.

Following his advice, and using the password and instructions he gave me, I made my way over to the Slytherin dorms.

"What are you doing here?" An older Slytherin said viciously when I entered their common room. It was beautiful, situated under the lake so green light filtered in, and extravagantly decorated.

"She's with me." A voice piped up. Theo crossed the common room and grabbed me by the arm gently, hauling me to the door. "What are you doing here?!" He exclaimed in a whisper.

"I came to talk to you and Draco. I wanted to make sure we were still… alright." I answered warily. Theo sighed.

"Of course we're alright, you're my best friend. My betrothed, even." Theo joked and I released the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"I don't know, it's one thing to promise you to a halfblood, but it's another altogether to agree to a Gryffindor halfblood. Your father might back out of our engagement because of this." I teased.

"Then we'll elope, like the Hatfield's and the McCoy's. Nothing gets between true love." He waggled his eyebrows at me and I could almost hug him in relief. Maybe this didn't have to change our friendship.

"Elizabeth." A voice interrupted our exchange. I met my cousin's frown with one of my own. "What are you doing here? How did you even get in?"

"That's not really important. I just wanted to talk to you."

"I'm going to leave you two be." Theo said and moved to join his friends.

"Are you okay?" Draco took my hand and peered at my arm. There wasn't even a mark left. Madam Pomfrey did good work. "I'll curse that oaf of boy next time I see him."

"It wasn't Neville's fault." I defended but I couldn't help my smile at Draco's brotherly instinct. Theo was right on the train, Draco was my brother for all intents and purposes. "Do you think Auntie and Uncle will disown me because I was sorted into Gryffindor?" I asked Draco nervously. He dropped my hand and shifted between his feet.

"I don't know. I haven't told them yet. Have you?"

"No."

"They're bound to find out sooner or later. You haven't gotten a Howler yet?"

"No."

"Then maybe it'll be fine. I mean, they can't disown you. Where would you go?"

"They'd probably send me to live with Andromeda. Her branch has been burned from the family tree, just like Sirius and just like mine probably will be." I said glumly.

"I don't think that'll happen. Mum loves you."

"How come isn't she sending me treats like she does to you? I don't think I'll go home for Christmas this year."

"Come on, it's not so bad. Everything will be fine."

"So you're not mad at me?" I asked hopefully.

"I mean, I'm disappointed. It's not going to be like it was before. We won't get to play quidditch together next year like we talked about. But we've been living together long enough, maybe some space will be good. And I'll still see you at holidays, even Christmas." He gave me a pointed look. I did feel a little better, though I felt sad.

"They don't like me over there. They say mean things when I walk by and everyone whispers behind my back." I admitted.

"I'll hex every one of them." He promised.

True to his word, it was like Draco and his friends had a personal vendetta against all Gryffindors. He cursed anyone he saw wearing read in the hallways, be it our year or not. This started an all out war between the two houses, though I don't know that they ever really got along very well in the first place. But Draco certainly didn't help things, throwing jinxes at any random soul that walked by.

I became old news and things finally started to mellow out into a normal routine. The only class I shared with the Slytherins was potions, and despite Severus' advice I stuck with Neville, determined to help him succeed in potions, or at least pass the year. Severus laid off Harry a small amount but it really wasn't much. He was still brutal in his critique of the boy and while I understood why, it still didn't make it fair.

I spent a lot of time studying with Hermione, determined not to let my grades slip because of my complacency. I wouldn't say the Gryffindors and I really got on but they at least tolerated me for the time being and so I was content with that.


	4. Chapter 4

**As always, there are parts straight from the story, with a little modification. These words belong to JK Rowling. Please don't sue me, I'm not worth much. I edited some of the other chapters and I took out the part about her birthday because I realized a continuity issue. In the beginning of the story it was implied that her birthday was after Halloween, not before. My bad. Please review. Point out mistakes, tell me if you like it or hate it, suggestions for directions to take the story, pairings you'd like to see happen. Thank you!**

What I was most excited about after the first few months at Hogwarts was flying lesson. I knew it made me sound snooty, saying I don't really need them, but it's true. At least I wasn't running around bragging like Draco, who continued to whine about not being allowed to play Quidditch as a first year. While I agreed with him in that it royally sucked, I understood that it was for the muggleborn's benefit.

I'd learned a lot about Muggleborns in my time here. I was ashamed to say I didn't have the greatest opinion of them growing up. I was always under the impression that they were uncultured, a little slow, mostly strange. However, spending time with Hermione has taught me that they're just like us, only with a slightly different upbringing. Sort of like Americans.

Finally, the day was here. Draco was being especially obnoxious today. He didn't wear excitement very gracefully, despite Aunt Narcissa's attempts to teach him the subtle art of composure. I felt the way he talked, though. I couldn't wait to get on a broom, and maybe show off a little.

We met the Slytherins out on the pitch. I gave Theo and Draco a wink. "It's on boys."

"Bring it, Lion cub." Theo goaded, using his stupid new nickname for me.

"I hate when you call me that." I complained. The Slytherin boy grin charmingly.

"That's why I use it, crazy cat."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste and moved to stand next to Neville, who had become an ally of sorts. I wouldn't say friend yet but it was further than I ever thought I'd get with the goofy boy. He gave me a nervous smile before our teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone, stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

I stepped up to a broom and grimaced. The Cleansweep looked like it was from the 19th century. "Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"'

"UP!" everyone shouted.

I noticed Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, just like the more experienced riders. Hermione's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. I felt bad for the kid, a pureblood who couldn't even command a broom. It was really a crime.

Madam Hooch then showed everyone how to mount our brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting grips. She told Draco he'd been doing it wrong for years, as I'd been telling him, which gave me a shameful feeling of righteous smugness. Quidditch was a constant source of opposition, at the same time that it was of bonding for Draco and I. We spent a lot of time riding together but we were constantly bickering over technique and who was the better rider/ player.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two -" But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle - twelve feet - twenty feet. I saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and - WHAM - a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.

I ran after Madam Hooch, who was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. "Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on, boy - it's all right, up you get.". She turned to the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Draco burst into laughter. "Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Look!" said Draco, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.

"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.

Draco smiled nastily. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled.

Draco leapt onto his broomstick and took off. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry grabbed his broom.

"No!" shouted Hermione. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble." I couldn't help but agree. It was just a stupid Remembrall, Neville could barely use the thing anyways. There was no sense in risking expulsion over something so trivial.

Harry ignored her. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher. Girls from both houses were screaming and gasping, Weasley whooped, much to Hermione's and my annoyment. Harry turned his broomstick sharply to face Draco in midair, who looked stunned. He'd assumed, as I had, that Harry Potter had no experience on a broom.

"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Draco, trying to sneer but not really pulling it off. Harry leaned forward and shot straight at him. Draco only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady.

A few people below were clapping.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.

The same thought seemed to have struck Draco. "Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.

Harry went into a sudden dive, one I wouldn't even try to pull off. He was gathering speed, racing the ball - he stretched out his hand - a foot from the ground, my heart lurched and I needed to do something, anything, but then he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.

"HARRY POTTER!" Professor McGonagall was running toward us. He got to his feet, trembling. "Never - in all my time at Hogwarts -" Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "- how dare you - might have broken your neck -"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor -"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil"

"But Malfoy -"

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now." Professor McGonagall led the chagrin, foolish boy into the castle. My heart squeezed. I never even got the chance to get to know him and now he was going to be leaving already.

"Did you see that?!" Exclaimed Dean Thomas.

"That was epic!" Agreed Ronald Weasley.

I rolled my eyes at them and walked over to where the Slytherins were all gathered around Draco as he ran his mouth.

"That was really uncool." I folded my arms across my chest. Draco broke free of the pack and scoffed at me.

"Uncool? What are we, five?" His cronies laughed.

"Seriously. You could have gotten expelled. How would Mother and Father have felt about that?"

"First of all, they're my parents, not yours. And second, they would never let this dumb school expel me, they practically own it." He spit at me. I recoiled at the venom in his voice. I knew he was probably caught up in the adrenaline of the experience and trying to save face in front of his friends. It's never a good idea to confront Draco Malfoy in front of his friends, I knew better. But it still stung. He never played the parent card on me, not even when I was all-out nasty to him in front of his friends. I tried to tell myself something else must be bothering him and he was just taking it out on me because I made myself an easy target. But telling myself that didn't ease the pain of his words any.

"They're my family too." I said tonelessly.

"Elizabeth, you know I didn't mean it like that." He scratched his elbow uncomfortably.

"I know, Draco. Just try to stay out of trouble." I moved to join the rest of my House as they made their way back to the Castle. Hermione came to my side wordlessly and I appreciated the silent show of support. The day I had anticipated most turned out to be a complete dud. Longbottom got hurt, Harry might be getting expelled, Draco and I had a nasty row, and worst of all I never even got to fly. What a lame day.

Later that day, at dinner, Harry was back. A smile broke out on Neville's, Hermione's and my faces at the sight of him. We rushed up with everyone else to figure out what happened, how he managed to get out of being expelled.

"She made me seeker." Harry had explained, sounding modest but proud. I sat in disbelief. Draco would have a cow. I was a little jealous myself, especially because it seemed more than a little unfair, I could only imagine how my cousin would react to the news.

Almost as if physically manifested from my thoughts, Draco was suddenly standing over our table with Crabbe and Goyle. "Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Draco. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Draco looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up, and then looked at me. "Elizabeth," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

"Draco!" I called as he turned away. I jumped up to join him as he continued to leave the hall. "What was that about?" I asked when I finally caught up to him.

"What are you afraid of," he drawled, feigning casualness, "hurting the precious boy-who-lived? Or everyone thinking you're still one of us?"

The truth? Both. Neither. I didn't know. "You actually want me as your second?"

"Oh I chose you for a reason, Elizabeth." He said smugly. Apprehension dawned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I suppose you'll find out at midnight tonight." He didn't wait for a response, spinning on his heel in a fashion similar to our godfather.

I didn't have a good feeling about this duel tonight. However, when I said as much, Weasley just called me a chicken and said I wasn't a skilled enough wizard to take him on. They were equally unreceptive to Hermione's objections, though she thought to try one more time before we all headed out, following me down the stairs to wait in the common room for the boys when it was nearly time.

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." She spoke up, startling the two boys as they came down their steps.

"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy - he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."

"Come on," Harry said to Ron, ignoring Hermione. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.

Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose. "Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Go away."

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so -" But what they were, we didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower. "Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.

"That's your problem," said Weasley. "We've got to go, we're going to be late." We hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with us.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"You are not."

"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."

"You've got some nerve -" said Ron loudly.

"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something." I heard it too, it was a sort of snuffling.

"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.

"Neville?" I called out quietly. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as we crept nearer.

"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." Weasley scolded.

"How's your arm?" said Harry.

"Fine," said Neville, showing us. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later -"

"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville. "If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you." Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned us all forward.

We flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. We sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.

Draco wasn't there yet. I was starting to get a feeling in the pit of my stomach.

The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. We edged along the walls, keeping our eyes on the doors at either end of the room.

Harry took out his wand but I didn't draw mine. I didn't think I'd be needing it. The minutes crept by.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered. Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when we heard someone speak -and it wasn't Draco.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. I looked over sharply as Harry waved madly at the four of us to follow him as quickly as possible; we scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice.

Neville's robes had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. "They're in here somewhere," we heard him mutter, "probably hiding."

"This way!" Harry mouthed and, petrified, we began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. We could hear Filch getting nearer.

Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.

"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the five of us sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following - we swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where we were or where we were going - we ripped through a tapestry and found ourselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near our Charms classroom, which we knew was miles from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.

"I - told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I - told - you."

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."

"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." Hermione confirmed what I had suspected from the beginning but had unreasonably tried to deny. He set me up too. Specifically. I don't even know who the real target was, Harry or me. Had I really pissed him off that much on the pitch?

"Let's go." Harry said in answer. It wasn't going to be that simple.

We hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of us. It was Peeves. He caught sight of us and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Peeves - please - you'll get us thrown out." Harry pleaded.

Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Weasley, taking a swipe at Peeves. This was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR"

Ducking under Peeves, we ran for our lives, right to the end of the corridor where we slammed into a door - and it was locked.

"This is it!" Weasley moaned, as we pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"

We could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!" The lock clicked and the door swung open - we piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed our ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." "Say 'please."' "Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice. "All right -please."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And we heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. I took a deep breath in relief and turned around to lean against the door then the breath caught in my throat. "I think we'll be okay - get off, Neville! What?" Harry turned around - and saw what we had all noticed before him.

We were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at us, and then it started to growl.

Suddenly we fell backward - Harry slammed the door shut, and we ran, we almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for us somewhere else, because we didn't see him anywhere, but we hardly cared - all we wanted to do was put as much space as possible between us and that monster. We didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.

"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at our bathrobes hanging off our shoulders and our flushed, sweaty faces.

"Never mind that - pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. We scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. It was a while before any of us said anything. I was stuck in my own head, thinking about Draco and his betrayal, that monster in the third floor corridor, and the near expulsion we barely avoided, the second one in a matter of days for Harry.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Weasley finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" To be honest, I couldn't say I did. I was busy shifting eye contact between its six sets to notice much else.

"The floor?" Harry suggested.

"I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads." Weasley echoed my thoughts.

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." She stood up, glaring at us, though mostly the two boys. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. Let's go, Elizabeth."

I followed her dutifully, my feet trudging along miserably. I knew everyone was concerned about the monster and whatever it was guarding but I really couldn't care less. Professor Dumbledore had his secrets for a reason. If there was anything I learned from living with the Malfoys it was don't stick my nose in places it didn't belong.

What was weighing heavily on my mind, and making sleep elude me, was my cousin. He had just declared war and I planned to retaliate.


	5. Chapter 5

**I think after this I'll do one more chapter of book one, try and skim through book two in only a few chapters and then get to Prisoner of Azkaban, which will be much more interesting. So hang in there through the little boring bits, there will be an abundance of action and drama ahead. As always, this work reflects that of JK Rowling, anything you recognize belongs to her.**

War with Draco, and by association Slytherin in general, was in full swing. Anytime red clashed with green in the corridors, sparks flew. I managed to land a couple well-placed stinging jinxes on Draco and an accidental one on Theo's rear, to which I apologized profusely. He took it good naturedly. I genuinely enjoyed the back and forth, after the initial hurt wore off. I spent a lot of time with Hermione and Neville, who was rapidly approaching the friendship level. We pretty much unanimously agreed not to think or talk about the dog or what it may or may not be guarding. We didn't talk to Harry or Ron really either, and that was fine with me.

Harry received a brand new broom as a gift from Professor McGonagall and I wasn't really sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, he didn't have any support at home and who could begrudge him a leg up every once in a while, but on the other I knew he had money (everyone did, with as much Weasley blabbed about it) and it didn't seem terribly fair, to first reward him for breaking clearly spoken rules by putting him on the team, despite centuries of tradition, and then to show further favor like that.

If I was feeling a little miffed about it, Draco was in a right state. When he found out Harry had made the team, as a first year, with no experience, and without trying out, his jinxes quadrupled in number and force. Lions were having to visit the hospital wing after being caught by him or his cronies. I tried to tell him to lighten up a little bit but that was not received well, as I'd figured.

I was so caught up with studying with Hermione and avoiding Harry and Draco that the weeks flew by. Before I knew it, it was my favorite holiday. Halloween! It started off as a great day. I had a wonderful time in charms class. Working with Neville, I had managed to make my feather hover for a few seconds. Which was better than anyone else, except Hermione, who had the unfortunate luck of being paired with Weasley. It was after that that the day went downhill.

We were all leaving the classroom, myself and Hermione trailing Harry and Weasley when the Weasel had been complaining about his partnering, "It's no wonder no one can stand her, she's a nightmare, honestly. And Black doesn't count, no one likes her either."

Hermione raced past them, tears filling her eyes.

"I think she heard you." Harry said awkwardly.

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

"You better watch your mouth, Weasley." I confronted him, fingering my wand in my pocket. "Hermione's the brightest witch at this school and you'd be lucky if she deemed you important enough to waste her time on."

"You're awfully brave for someone who shouldn't be in this house, or even at this school. Why don't you mind your own business, Snake." Weasley spat.

"Or what? You'll call me more ridiculous names and use whatever few pathetic jinxes you know? Give it a rest, Weasley." I rolled my eyes and was about to turn before I saw him reach into his pocket.

Ron drew his wand but before he could fire anything he was flown to the ground. Draco emerged from behind me and bent over the gasping redhead.

"Never draw your wand on my cousin, Weasley, if you value your life." He threatened coldly. I knew it was an empty threat, Draco was prone to be dramatic, but it made me smile anyways. "Let's go, Elizabeth, his stupidity might be contagious."

I followed Draco and his two friends with a smug smile on my face. Even in the midst of one of our longest spats, Draco still had my back. When he turned around and saw my expression, Draco gave me a stern look. "Don't think this means I'm talking to you, or even like you."

"I wouldn't dream of it." But the smile remained on my face as I went to find Hermione. I had shown up to class, expecting her to be there, but after a few minutes it was apparent she wasn't coming. Weasley must have really gotten to her, Hermione never skipped class.

I went looking for the girl, eventually finding her in the girls' bathroom on the main floor.

"Hey Hermione. It's me, Elizabeth. Can I come in?" I asked when I heard sniffling behind a stall. I heard the lock slide open and swung the door back to see Hermione sitting on the Loo with her head in her hands, tears streaked down her face.

"Is that true? What he said? No one likes us? We're just misfits who've been forced together because no one else wants to be around us?" She asked miserably.

"At least we're misfits together." I joked. When she didn't find it funny, I moved to crouch down next to her. "Listen, I thought you were a little bossy at first too."

Hermione gave me a look and I held my hands up in surrender. "I said at first. But then I got to know you and I found that you were bloody brilliant, like unreasonably so, and quick-witted and funny, charming and loyal, dedicated. And yes, still bossy. But you're great, truly, and who cares what Weasley thinks anyways? He's just a stupid, insecure boy that thinks he's cooler than he really is because he's friends with the Boy Who Lived."

Hermione sniffled a little. "It doesn't bother you what he said?"

"Unlike you, I kind of deserved the words he threw at me. And it's true, I still don't really fit in here. You and Neville are pretty much the only ones who don't hold who my family is against me. Which is ironic, considering Neville has the most reason to."

"Why?" Hermione asked casually. She tried to make it sound like she was just trying to distract herself from her own feelings but I knew she'd always been curious as to why most of the Gryffindors were so mean to me, she was just always too polite to ask. I didn't mind telling her now, maybe it would make the words of a shallow little wizard seem less consequential.

"My aunt tortured his parents until their brains pretty much cracked." I said tonelessly.

"Draco's mother?"

"No, my other aunt, her sister. Really she's my first cousin once removed, technically. But that doesn't matter. Most pureblood wizarding families are related. My grandparents were cousins."

"That's disgusting." Hermione crinkled her nose and giggled. I was happy to see her smile.

"Ready to go to dinner?" I asked. "Our class is probably over by now."

Hermione frowned. "I missed all of our final period?"

"I think so." I smiled grimly and stood, making to leave the stall. "Man it stinks in here." I was only half joking, trying to lighten the mood. When I stepped out of the stall something hard caught me in the stomach and suddenly I was flying. I hit a sink with a snap and lost my breath. I could hear Hermione scream but I was having a hard time orienting myself to what was happening around me. When my vision finally cleared, I nearly screamed as well.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. A troll.

How in the world had a troll managed to meander into Hogwarts? I had to be hallucinating. I really did a number on my head. As I thought it, my brain twinged painfully. I tried to get up to help Hermione, who was shrieking and running from the beast's swinging club, but my leg protested sharply when I tried to put weight on it. I looked down and grew nauseous. My leg had snapped when I hit the sink. It hung at an unnatural angle and a purple bruise was rapidly forming, the leg swelling.

"Confuse it!" I heard a familiar voice shout suddenly. I looked up to see Harry and Ron in the doorway to the bathroom. Harry seized a tap and threw it against the wall.

The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.

"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she pointed over at me.

"Elizabeth is injured. It hit her with its club when it came in." She cried. I tried to stand again but I knew it was useless. We would have to fight the troll another way. I tried to think past the pain. Spells wouldn't work on trolls, they were too big. There was nothing heavy enough in here to hit it with. My brain scrambled.

The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.

"Harry!" I cried.

As the troll bucked and Harry hung on for dear life, he took the wand he'd been holding and shoved it in the troll's face. It had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils. Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.

Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand and cried, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over - and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble. I stared at Ron in wonder. The daft weasel I'd made fun of for barely passing his classes had thought of something I hadn't even been close to, nor had Hermione probably. I was bewildered.

Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done. It was Hermione who spoke first.

"Is it - dead?"

"I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out." He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue. "Urgh - troll boogers." He wiped it on the troll's trousers.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of us look up. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Professor Snape, with Professor Quirrell bringing up the rear.

Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. Severus bent over the troll.

Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. "What on earth were you thinking of?" she said, with cold fury in her voice.

Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Then a small voice came out of the shadows. "Please, Professor McGonagall - they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

"I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it on my own - you know, because I've read all about them, and I made Elizabeth come in case I needed back up." Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher? "If they hadn't found us, we'd both be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them. "Well - in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" Hermione hung her head.

"Wait, Elizabeth?" Severus' head snapped up from where he was examining the troll. No one else had appeared to notice either.

"Over here!" I called. "I can't move!"

Severus was in front of me in seconds, mumbling spells I don't know and then lifting me up.

"Take Miss Black to the hospital wing, Severus. Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Hermione followed us out.

"I'm so sorry Elizabeth." Hermione cried. She looked shell-shocked, as if she hadn't realized how badly I'd been injured.

"It's not your fault Hermione. I'll be better in no time." We parted ways, Hermione going to the tower and my godfather and I heading to the hospital wing.

"You foolish, foolish girl. What really happened?" Severus said at last. I had been going in and out of consciousness so I didn't actually know how long we'd been walking.

"Weasley had hurt Hermione's feelings and so she'd hidden out in the girls' bathroom. I went to go cheer her up and the troll came out of nowhere. One second I was exiting the stall and the next I was in pieces on the other side of the bathroom. Harry and Ron came to rescue us." I explained. "Don't tell Professor McGonagall please." I knew he wouldn't but I figured it was best said anyways.

"Foolish, foolish girl." The man muttered as he dumped me onto a hospital bed. "You should stay away from Longbottom AND Granger. And the Potter boy. They bring trouble and you seem to be caught in the crossfire more often than not."

"This wasn't anyone's fault."

"Hmmph." Severus disagreed. Madame Pomphrey ran over and assessed my wounds. She realigned my leg and then gave me skele-gro along with a whole slew of nasty potions.

"Severus," I began "do you know who let that troll in? There's no way it found it's way here on its own. Professor Dumbledore would never have let it get so far."

Severus stared at me for a moment, debating. "I have suspicions but I'm not sure."

"Do you think it has anything to do with that beast on the third floor?"

"Elizabeth?!"

I held my hands up before he could scold me. "It was an accident. We got lost. I didn't think much of it, I figured it was best left alone. But I got really hurt because of this thing, so if there's something going on I think I should know about it."

"It's protecting something very valuable, and there's been an attempt to steal it before so yes it's probably related."

"Are we in danger?"

"I don't think so. I think it's some fool who's just trying to make a quick fortune." Severus said it casually but I didn't know that I fully believed him. I'd been trained to read into half truths and decipher more than words. But I knew Severus was just trying to protect me so I left it be.

I nodded and Severus pat my good leg. "Get some rest. I'll tell your cousin that you're in here. I doubt that Madam Pomphrey will allow visitors anytime soon so he'll have to wait until tomorrow to come see you."

"Thank you, Sev- Professor Snape." My eyes were closed before my godfather had even left the room.

I woke the next morning to the headache that beat all headaches. "I think she's awake." A familiar voice said. I waited for my vision to clear then smiled when I found the most unlikely gaggle of people around my bed. Draco occupied the chair, with Theo at his back and Hermione sat at the end of my bed with Neville beside her.

"I can't believe you fought a troll." Were the first words Theo said.

"Well, I didn't exactly fight it. I was taken out pretty much instantly." I grimaced as I adjusted in bed. The sheets had folded under me, digging into my skin, and my entire body ached, making it nearly impossible to get comfortable.

"It's still pretty cool. I've only ever seen a troll once." Theo smiled, his words making me feel better.

"So Madam Pomphrey says you have to stay here for a week or two." Hermione said miserably.

"But the Quidditch match!" I cried. "I can't miss my first ever school game."

"It's okay, I can tell you exactly how it will go." Draco said smugly. "Gryffindor and Slytherin will face off and then we'll pummel you to the ground, winning by a landslide. I don't think the game will last longer than a few minutes anyways."

"Yeah right! Your-" Madam Pomphrey cut off my rebuttal with more potions, to my displeasure, and then shooed everyone out.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Theo turned around and gave me a small present and a kiss on the cheek before joining the rest. Draco punched him in the shoulder for being girly and then they all left me.

Blushing, I opened the box and read the little note. "No matter what our parents decide for our futures, my friendship I can always promise to you." Under the note was a little silver ring with a green gemstone. I recognized the piece of jewelry as one of his heirlooms from his mother, it would have gone to his sister if he had one. It was precious and he gave it to me. I slipped it on my middle finger and fought back tears. Maybe things wouldn't change between me and Theo.

Draco had brought flowers and all my favorite candies and Neville had written me a sweet card. The gestures were so sweet and it made me feel a little less alone.

Madam Pomphrey, saint that she was, said that I was healing alright and could leave in time to attend the match, "Provided," she had said strictly, "that you take it easy and get plenty of rest." Her stern look dissolved and she gave me an indulgent smile. "Have fun, dear. It was nice having you around as company but it's time you got on your way."

I couldn't be more excited. As I walked down to the pitch I met up with Draco and all his friends. Theo offered me his coat, as I hadn't thought to go up to the tower after my discharge, and I accepted it after only a small amount of protesting. It was useless against Theo anyways. We bundled for warmth and headed down together, Draco obnoxiously making far-fetched predictions. When we reached the pitch, I moved to join the Gryffindors, trying to give Theo his coat back but he refused. So I walked up to the stands warm and grateful.

"Elizabeth!" Hermione greeted, throwing her arms around me.

"Easy." Neville told her when he saw me wince and patted my back gently. I sat down, smiling bigger than I had in a long time. It was a great game, with dramatic back and forth. Harry hovered over everything with a watchful eye like a crow. I explained the game to Hermione as it went, explaining the fouls and moves as they happened.

Hagrid joined us after a little while and not much later Harry's broom started to lurch unexpectedly. It was jerking and waving him all over the place as the boy hung on for dear life. He went into a barrel roll and then came out of it, hanging from the broom by his fingers.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.

"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic - no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.

"What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.

"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape - look." Ron grabbed the binoculars.

"It's not Professor Snape. He would never hurt Harry." I protested.

"He's doing something - jinxing the broom," said Hermione.

"What should we do?"

"Leave it to me." Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. I made to follow her before she did something stupid but on my healing leg I couldn't keep up and fell quickly behind. Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.

Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well- chosen words. I raced to stop her but was too late. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Severus's robes. "Professor Snape!" I called to alert him to the fire. Severus yelped and looked around. I ducked down before he could see me and moved to join Hermione. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row.

"I can't believe you did that!" I scolded her.

Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom. Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick - he hit the field on all fours - coughed - and something gold fell into his hand.

"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference - Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results - Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.

I was both excited about the game and miffed at Hermione's behavior. Without any explanation, she ran off to join Harry and Ron, who Neville informed me she'd been spending pretty much all her time with while I'd been in the hospital wing. I tried not to be jealous but I couldn't help but thinking they'd robbed her of her good sense. The Hermione I'd come to respect would have never done anything to harm a teacher.

Neville and I went to celebrate with the rest of the Gryffindors and I got lost in the excitement of it all, forgetting about monsters in the castle and nefarious plots to steal things. Harry and his gang never showed up to the party and I felt bad that they were missing out. I imagined they were busy chasing demons.

"Happy birthday." Draco came to our table at the end of November. I grinned and accepted his hug then he dropped a package in front of me. "It's from mum." He said.

My eyes widened and he smiled. "Open it." He encouraged. I hastily ripped open the paper to find a box with all my favorite hair products and make up. I'd been running low and this was worth gold to me.

"She remembered me." I was awed by the gesture more than anything.

"Jeez, this stuff is so girly." Ron stuck his head in my box and I swatted at his ear.

"This one's from me." Draco handed me a book. It was a Quidditch moves reference book.

"Whoa," Harry said looking over my shoulder.

"Here's mine." Theo said from behind Draco, reaching around to hand me a tube of lipstick. He knew the exact shade I loved. Blaise gave me a bracelet and Neville gave me a book on potions. I couldn't be happier with all my gifts. I gave everyone big hugs and kisses, making most of them turn red. It was a good day. Everyone wished me happy birthday and I felt like I was finally beginning to fit in.

Soon the happiness wore off as the threat of Christmas loomed over me. I ran over every possible scenario in my mind in the weeks leading up. Would they leave me in the train station, refuse to take me home with them? Would they lock me in my room all holiday? Send me to live with someone else? My anxiety had reached an all time high when we boarded the train.

I sat with Neville and Hermione, who caught me up on everything she and dumb and dumber had been talking about the past month or so. They thought the three headed dog, who actually belonged to Hagrid and was named Fluffy, was guarding something related to Nicholas Flammel and that Professor Snape was trying to steal it.

"Nicholas Flammel is a famous alchemist," I told Hermione, "I have no idea what he could know that's so valuable but I know for a fact that Professor Snape is not trying to steal anything." Hermione didn't argue with me and it was a nice distraction to think about what the dog may be guarding. The only thing further Hermione said on the subject is just to keep my eye out in case he started acting strange and I promised I would. And then the moment finally came.

I found Draco and we disembarked together. He held my hand in a show of support as we met with the rest of our family.

"Draco!" Aunt Narcissa threw her arms around her son in an uncharacteristic display of affection. When she released him, she did the same to me and I melted into her embrace, all the tension leaving my body. "Shhh, I know, it's okay baby." She stroked my hair as I did my best to hide my tears. She let go enough for me to compose myself and then dropped a kiss on my forehead before pulling Draco into her other arm.

My reception from Lucius was not nearly as warm. He gave me a cold glare and refused to say a word to me. But I was okay with that. My aunt still loved me and that was all that mattered.


	6. Chapter 6

**I apologize for the very long delay, luckily I have a very long chapter to make up for it. I hope you like it, please let me know if you do or do not. As always, I own nothing, you'll recognize parts, etc. Thanks for your patients guys.**

The Christmas holidays were long and awkward. I felt like a stranger in my home, a ghost walking through the halls that no one really acknowledged, or if they did it was to quickly move out of the way. At dinner Draco told stories of living in the Slytherin dorm, no one wanted to know what it was like being Gryffindor. It seemed as if they'd rather forget. Mostly Draco complained about Harry Potter.

"The teachers worship him! He gets away with murder, I tell you!" While I didn't fully disagree, I wouldn't have put it in those words.

It was worse when all his friends came over. Because they used to be our friends. Even Theo was a part of inside jokes that didn't include me. I didn't say more than a few words all Christmas break and took to spending most of my time out on my broom or wandering through the gardens. The grounds of Malfoy Manor were stunning at Christmas time, with a soft layer of snow coating any available surface, it transformed into a whole other world.

I thought of my mother a lot, if for no other reason than because I'd been feeling melancholy. I imagined what the holidays would be like with her. And I struggled to imagine what my mother saw in my father. From what I knew of the two of them, they seemed like polar opposites. She was kind and loyal and honest while Sirius was a coward and a traitor who turned on his friends when they needed him most, ruining so many lives in the wake of his treason. I started to resent him more and more, especially after getting to know Harry and watching him stand up for his friends, even over the stupidest of things, bravely oppose those he disagreed with and even run into the midst of danger to save girls he barely even knew.

Christmas day was what had finally managed to break me out of my funk. It started with Draco throwing himself onto my bed, trying to wrestle me out of the covers. "Let's go, Elizabeth! It's Christmas, you lazy bag of bones! Go do your hair so we can open presents!" Draco dragged me out of bed and I did as he instructed. It made me smile that he kept with our tradition, dragging all his gifts into my room in the early hours of dawn so that we could open everything before his parents woke up. It was like a small act of rebellion, not waiting until they were awake and presentable to open our gifts.

Sitting down on the rug together, my cousin and I dug through our gift piles. His was significantly bigger than mine but that didn't bother me, I was more of a quality over quantity kind of person. I received gifts from Hermione, Neville, Theo, Draco, Aunt Narcissa and Severus.

"Did you get a secret gift this year?" Draco asked, peering around my pile. I frowned and sifted through my things before I finally found a small package that, like every year, was unsigned. Draco watched as I peeled back the wrapping. Inside was a beautiful antique hair comb encrusted with diamonds and emeralds. I was able to recognize it as a Black heirloom without the note attached. In neat handwriting it said, 'this belonged to your grandmother, Walburga Black. She gave it to me on my 13th birthday.'

I figured the gifts were from one of my female relatives. I suspected they were from Aunt Narcissa though I didn't understand why she would keep them secret. I'd been receiving them for as long as I could remember. Sometimes they were heirlooms, though nothing nearly as precious as this one, and other times they were just simple things like toys or books. I took the comb and thread it into my hair.

"That looks good with your hair." Draco said, admiring the diamonds. The thing had to be worth a fortune.

"Thank you." I beamed under his praise. All my gifts were precious and thoughtful. Theo had gifted me a camera and an album, including a note that read 'fill this with the many adventures I know you will go on'. Hermione gave me a muggle novel, by Jane Austen who she said was iconic in muggle literature. Severus had gifted me an old photo of my mother, sitting in the grass and laughing. She looked to be only a few years older than me. The sunshine caught her brown hair as she turned to the picture-taker, Severus presumably, making her look ethereal. I stared at the picture a long time and Draco gave me my space, pretending not to notice my tears.

Eventually he said, "Let's take the new broom mum got you out for a spin, yeah?" I agreed, hastily wiping my face and stowing the picture under my pillow. I grabbed my new Nimbus 2000 and Draco ran to get the one Aunt Narcissa had gotten him the summer before and we raced downstairs. "First one around the perimeter and back to the fountain wins!" Draco called and shot off.

"Hey!" I protested and mounted my broom, making up ground.

After that the holidays started turning around. We hosted a Christmas party, as we did every year, and I enjoyed the act of dressing up and making myself presentable. I wore my new hair comb with a matching dress and Aunt Narcissa joined me at the mirror to admire our reflections. She frowned when she saw the comb.

Gently fingering it, she said softly, "I haven't seen this in years. Not since…" She trailed off and sighed regretfully.

"Do you know who's been sending me these?" I asked hopefully.

"I do." She wore a forlorn expression.

"Won't you tell me who it is?" I pleaded.

"If they didn't sign the note then I believe they wish to remain anonymous. We should respect their wishes."

I fidgeted with the sleeves of my dress. "So it's not you then?"

"No, it's not me. Though how I had coveted this hair comb when I was younger. I didn't talk to its owner for months out of jealousy. I'm happy it has found its way to you."

Narcissa smoothed a piece of hair back from my face and then left the room. I stood there for a moment, looking at it and wondering at the history behind such a small yet priceless item, before moving to join her.

Most of the guests had already arrived and I made rounds, smiling politely and greeting everyone personably. I complimented dresses and hairstyles that belonged in the 70s and praised men on their physique and watched their chests swell. Occasionally people made offhand remarks about my 'unfortunate sorting' but I laughed easily and called the old hat a loon.

When I reached Severus I quickly hugged him before anyone would notice. "Thank you so much for the photo. It means so much to me."

"You've no idea how difficult it was to part from it. That's the only photo I have of your mother. But I thought it was more important that you have it than I." We walked over to where everyone had begun sitting for dinner and Severus pulled out my seat for me. I sat and smoothed my skirts.

"Thank you, genuinely, Severus." My godfather smiled indulgently and inquired after my revisions. I told him I'd finished all my homework. What I didn't say was that I finished it all in the first day or so, as I'd had nothing better to do and it made me feel a little less melancholy. I asked about the beast and its ties to Nicholas Flammel, who he thought was trying to steal whatever it was guarding.

"I don't know that this is appropriate dinner discussion, Elizabeth." Severus chastised.

"But Professor Snape," I argued, trying to remain respectful.

"That's enough of this, Elizabeth. I don't want to hear about it again. And I don't want you doing your own investigation. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." I muttered contritely. "You know, Harry Potter and his gang of misfits thinks it's you that's trying to steal whatever it is."

Someone on the other side of Severus had heard the name Harry Potter and this started a rant throughout the entire table about the boy who lived. It resolutely ended that discussion, much to my displeasure. After the meal, once the dancing started, I was yanked off to the side suddenly.

"What on Earth- Theo?" I looked at my friend in confusion. His blue eyes shone in excitement and anticipation.

"I have another gift for you." He stated, pulling me out of the room and down the hall into the sitting room. "Go grab the camera, quickly, and meet me back here." I did as he asked without question, running up the steps to my room, excitement and trepidation warring in my mind.

I found Theo where I left him and he held out a pouch. I examined it and was surprised to find floo powder inside. The Malfoys kept the floo powder locked up because they didn't want us sneaking out.

"We're going on our first adventure," he said with a wicked smile. He took a handful of the powder, handing the bag to me and then stepped into the fireplace. "Central Park, New York, USA!" He announced then tossed the floo powder and disappeared in a flash. I stared at the fireplace in wonder. The boy was nuts. But I suppose so was I because I did the next logical thing and copied him.

I landed somewhere dark and immediately panicked. Had I said it wrong? Was Central Park not part of the floo system? I searched around blindly, stirring up dust, before finally finding a door handle. Throwing it open, I was blinded by pure white. Stepping outside, I looked around and found that I'd landed in an old abandoned tiny castle situated in the middle of a winter wonderland.

"For a second I was worried you had chickened out, leaving me with no floo powder to return home." Theo said from behind me. I took my time turning around, admiring the snowy scenery around me. We were surrounded by trees encased in pristine snow but beyond that were tall buildings, as tall as Hogwarts, but thin and geometric.

"Why would you leave me with all the floo powder then?" I inquired after I'd taken my fill of our surroundings.

"To give you no choice but to come." He smirked knowingly, bundling in his dress robe. I shivered in sympathy. We hadn't thought to grab heavy clothes before leaving, though I blamed that one on Theo.

"Come on." He tucked my arm into his and started down the path we were standing on. I marveled at the park, it seemed like it went on and on. Eventually we reached a street that had horse drawn carriages lining it. How fantastic!

"Would you like to ride in one?" He flourished his arm in a grand gesture.

"Theodore, I don't think they accept wizard currency." I told him hesitantly.

"I did come slightly prepared, much as you may disagree." He shivered violently and pulled American notes out of his coat pocket. "The only time I'd ever been to New York was in the summer and it was miserably hot so I thought it was always like that. Pretty ignorant of me, huh?"

"Are you saying you can't predict weather patterns on the opposite side of the pond?" I teased with a smirk. "This is magical, Theo." He held out his hand and I gingerly climbed into a carriage then we took off at a slow leisurely place. We wrapped up in heavy blankets we'd found on the bench and admired the scenery. It was magical in the sense that it was utterly unmagical but that only made it more so to me.

"Muggles really have a way of making the mundane quite extraordinary." I marveled at the towering structures lining the park, extending as far and as tall as the eye could see. It was almost a park in itself, only one made of steel and muggle ingenuity.

We asked the driver of our carriage to drop us off at the small castle after our ride. We needed to get back before anyone noticed. Before we dismounted, I asked the driver to take a photo of us.

"You know, it's the darndest thing, I could have sworn I saw that picture move." The man said when he handed the photograph and the camera back.

"Funny." I thanked the man and we waited until he disappeared before entering the building.

The rest of the holidays flew by in a flash. I felt less like a ghost and more like a kid, flying with Draco, running around the manor playing hide and go seek or tag out in the gardens. No one knew about my overseas adventure with Theo and it was exhilarating to have such a big secret between just the two of us. Tucked into my album was the photo evidence. The two of us were bundled and shivering with rosy cheeks but we wore massive smiles. Joining that photo was the one of my mother, equally content to sit back and smile.

On the train ride back to the castle I sat with Neville and Hermione. We chatted about our holidays and Hermione told me a little bit about her futile search for Nicholas Flammel. I told her I couldn't help them look for him anymore.

"But why?! We need your help! You're the only one who knows anything about him!"

"And I told you everything I know, which is not much. I promised Se-Snape I wouldn't look into it any further."

Hermione's features twisted.

I sighed. "What's that face for?"

"Well… I just think it makes sense. Snape knows you'd be able to figure out who he is so he's trying to throw you off his tail."

"Hermione, Snape is not the person trying to steal whatever Fluffy is guarding. I would know if he was."

Hermione stared at me for a minute. "Okay." She finally relented and didn't mention it again. We fell into a normal rhythm of studying for exams and walking the grounds. For the first few weeks we didn't see much of Hermione because she was caught up with tweedled dee and tweedled dumb on their goose chase but then she seemed to realize exams were looming and joined us, throwing herself into her studies. Hermione revised with a fervor I could never hope to replicate but I did my best to make sure Neville and I would at least pass with decent marks. The two of us grew restless however, and needed to take breaks more frequently so we'd meander down to the lake and sit in the grass, soaking up the sun.

Draco laid off his attacks on me a little since we had started getting along over the holidays. I didn't think it would last, however. Especially with how viciously and persistently he attacked Neville, whom I spent a great deal of time with.

On one occasion I did get caught in the crossfire. Neville and I were leaving the library when Draco and his cronies came upon us. "What are you doing in the library Neville? We all know you can't read." Draco picked up the book off the top of Neville's pile. Both of us had our arms loaded with books so we were unable to do much to defend ourselves.

"S-S-Stop it." Neville stammered.

"Honestly Longbottom, how did you manage to land yourself in Gryffindor? You have all the courage of a rat." The Slytherins snickered.

"Leave him alone, Draco." I said around my stack.

"Oh, I didn't even see you there cousin. Having you been doing a lot of charity? Reading to the dumb?" He sneered at Neville.

"Neville is my friend." It was the first time I had actually said the words out loud.

Draco and his friends laughed. He turned back to Neville. "Transfiguration for beginners." Draco held up the book he took from Neville's pile. "Shall I show you a little bit of transfiguration I learned myself? I've been looking for someone to practice on." He drew his wand.

"Draco-" I protested but Draco turned his wand on me before I could drop my books and react.

"Silencio!" He called and no matter how many foul names I called him, they fell on deaf ears. I cursed and rioted, throwing my books down to the floor.

Draco shot a leg locking jinx at Neville and ran away while I quickly moved to catch my friend before he hit his head on the ground. I left our books sprawled about the hallway and helped Neville hop to the common room.

When we reached the portrait, Neville couldn't remember the password and I couldn't speak so I mimed him the words and he tried to guess what I was saying. Eventually he got it, calling out and all but falling into the common room.

Everyone fell over laughing except Hermione, who leapt up and performed the countercurse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling. She did the same to me and I took a deep breath and screamed. Everyone covered their ears and I was pleased. I stomped to the couch and fell in a dramatic heap.

"What happened?" Hermione asked Neville, leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron, all the while giving me a curious look.

"Malfoy," said Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville. "Report him!"

Neville shook his head. "I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.

I watched as Harry reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a chocolate frog then gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry. "You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."

Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog. "Thanks, Harry... I think I'll go to bed... D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"

I watched Neville take the stairs glumly. I wish I had done more to protect him.

"Dumbledore again," Harry said, pulling my attention away from Neville. "He was the first one I ever-" He gasped. He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron and Hermione. "I've found him!" he whispered.

"I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here - listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!"

Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework. "Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories then within seconds she dashed back down, an enormous old book in her arms.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Light?" said Ron, but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself. At last she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I knew it!"

"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily.

Hermione ignored him. "Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!" This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.

"The what?" said Harry and Ron.

"Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Look - read that, there."

She pushed the book toward them, and I read over their shoulders, my curiosity getting the best of me.

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).

"See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

I made my way up to the dorms while they talked. I knew I shouldn't care, I was supposed to be staying out of it. But it ruffled my feathers that they kept pointing fingers at Severus despite all the logic pointing away from him.

The next few weeks passed in a blur of homework, studying and Quidditch. There was a brilliant match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, during which Hermione and her gang of miscreants accused Severus of messing with Harry once again. I began to give up on arguing with them and learned to tune them out altogether. As winter wore on, the only real time I spent with the three amigos was classes and studying, as that was all I really did anyways, until one sunny day after being cramped in the library for hours.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out and I resisted the urge to transfigure him into a fish, it wasn't his first outburst of the day. "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

I looked up from my beginners spellcasting book. Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron arrogantly. Really he had nothing to do with it. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St -"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?" I couldn't help but agree, giving another look over my shoulder.

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"

"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh -"

"See you later, then," said Harry.

Hagrid shuffled off.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"

"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd apparently had enough of working. I went back to my work but found I could no longer concentrate. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.

"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him, " said Harry.

"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania." I really wanted to meet this brother of Ron's. He sounded like someone who could tell a good story, certainly had to be better company than his ickle brother.

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.

"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.

Despite my better judgement, I found myself on Hagrid's doorstep and hour later with the knights of Camelot, knocking on the massive door. I mean, come on, it's got something to do with dragons. Severus would understand.

Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let us in, and then shut the door quickly behind us. I raised my eyebrows at his strange behavior.

It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made tea and offered stoat sandwiches, which we refused, of course.

"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yes," said Harry. I was surprised to see him volunteering to be the spokesperson rather than big mouth Ron or bossy Hermione. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at him.

"0' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and we could tell he was smiling. I felt a little guilty for taking advantage of the friendly giant that way but not enough to stop her from continuing. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione, I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?"

"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

I felt righteous indignation flare when they all shared a disbelieving look.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.

"Well, that's something," Harry muttered. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid.

"Hagrid - what's that?" Harry asked, looking at the fire. I followed his line of sight. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg. I bounced up to take a closer look, Ron following.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's er..."

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get an even closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin' , said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.

"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she said. I almost laughed out loud, and I would have if I hadn't seen the goofy look on Hagrid's face. It was clear he wasn't listening to her as he hummed merrily and stoked the fire.

I followed the three stooges out of the hut with one last concerned look back. I didn't have a good feeling about this.

I went on to carry on with my studies, though my skull throbbed and I relived famous battles in my sleep. The days were starting to ware on me and I walked from class to class in a zombie state.

Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: It's hatching. I didn't even hesitate to follow the merry band of misfits down to the hut to see the dragon. What a once in a lifetime experience! I had the quick foresight to run up and grab my camera before joining them down at the cabin.

"It's nearly out." Hagrid said as he ushered us inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it. Then all at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout. I thought it was adorable.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.

"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid -he's runnin' back up ter the school."

We all bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.

Draco had seen the dragon.

Harry, Ron and Hermione tried to convince Hagrid to let the dragon go. I'd of course grown fond of the little monster so I kept my voice shut. Eventually they agreed to ask Ron's not-lame brother Charlie to come and take him where he could be protected and cared for by professionals in a wild setting. I thought this was probably the most mature idea but that didn't make saying goodbye any easier.

When the day finally came around I didn't go because I couldn't stop crying. I gave Norbert one last kiss on the nose then went back to my dorm and sobbed into my pillow before falling asleep.

After that I didn't speak much to the super squad. I felt guilty that they got detention and lost house points for delivering Norbert. I don't think they forgave me for missing out of that punishment because none of them went out of their way to speak to me. I spent the rest of the semester with Neville as we tried to round up our studying. We sat in the common room late one evening going over history of magic. I dozed in and out and hadn't noticed the common room emptying until Neville popped up from next to me, making my side of the couch sink.

"What are you doing?" he asked. I looked up to see who he was talking to. The freedom riders stood there looking guilty yet determined. Somehow, I knew exactly what they were up to.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting something behind his back.

Neville stared at their guilty faces.

"You're going out again," he said.

"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door.

"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."

But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.

"I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll - I'll fight you!" I admired his bravery. Though I'd come to respect Neville, it was the first truly Gryffindor thing I'd seen him do in the time I'd known him.

"Neville, "Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot -"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."

He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm ready!"

Harry turned to Hermione.

"Do something," he said desperately.

Hermione stepped forward. I watched the entire exchange with morbid fascination, wanting to help Neville but also wanting to let him take charge for himself. I saw it as a good thing that he was standing up to them.

"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this."

She raised her wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" she cried, pointing it at Neville.

Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.

Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.

"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered.

"It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.

"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron as they stepped over him and pulled on an invisibility cloak. I was stunned speechless. I'd only ever heard of them, I'd never actually seen one in real life.

After Hermione left with dumb and dumber I ran to Neville and performed a quick counter curse.

"Elizabeth! They're-" He began.

"I know, Neville. I know where they're going. I'm going to go get Professor Snape, you find Professor McGonagall." I told him quickly as I helped him to his feet.

"But they'll get more points taken." He said.

"Forget about the stupid cup, Neville. They're about to do something very stupid and/ or dangerous. Come on. Tell her Harry, Ron and Hermione are going after someone they think is trying to steal the stone. She'll know what that means." We both left the common room, Neville running to get our head of house while I ran down to the dungeons to retrieve my Godfather.

I had difficulty navigating to Severus' quarters but eventually found it and pounded on the door.

"Severus!" I called. "Come quickly! It's an emergency." In the delay that followed I had a slight panic that maybe I was wrong, maybe Severus really had been the one trying to steal the stone. But then the door swung open to reveal a disheveled and indignant professor and I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"What in Merlin's name-"

"You've got to come quickly!" I interrupted him. "Harry and Ron and Hermione know about the sorcerer's stone and they think you're trying to steal it so they're going down there themselves! All they know about is fluffy and that it has other wards on it! I'm worried they'll get hurt over something stupid."

As I spoke, Severus threw on a robe and grabbed a bag then shuffled ahead of me back down the hallway.

"I need to you to go get Professor McGonagall." He instructed.

"I already sent Neville to go get her." I told him.

"Very well then, you did the right thing by coming to get me, now go back to your dormitory."

"No way sir! I'm going with you to help them."

"Elizabeth, now is not the time to act like a petulant child." He scolded. I frowned.

"You wouldn't even know what they were doing if it weren't for me. They're my friends and I'm coming to help them, you can call me whatever you want to." I kept pace with him.

"It's times like these where you really remind me of your father." He said with a frown. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"How could you say that to me?"

Severus stopped and looked back at me with a sigh. "This time I don't mean that as an insult. Your father would have walked into fire for his friends. He was far braver than anyone I knew."

"Until he threw his friends into the fire." I grumbled miserably.

"Elizabeth," Severus placed his hand on my shoulder. "There is a lot more to your father than you will ever know. No man is entirely evil, just as no man is entirely good. Come on, let's go rescue your friends from the fire."


	7. Chapter 7

We flew through the corridors and up the steps to the third floor, Severus's robes billowing him behind him, making him look like a prince of darkness. I thought about the scene back in the common room. Part of me felt like I should have confronted them then and told them not to go but the more sensical part of me knew they would just have cursed me right along with Neville and then they would have done what they wanted anyways and we wouldn't have been able to run and get help. Still, it felt very un-Gryffindor of me, to just hide behind the couch and watch my friend get cursed.

Fluffy was exactly as I remembered, massive and terrifying. Severus conjured a grand piano to play and within seconds the pup was asleep. We crossed the corridor and struggled to slide Fluffy's paw off the trap door before flinging it open.

"I'll go first." Severus said. "Do not be afraid, there's Devil's Snare at the bottom." He told me then promptly dropped down into the secret door.

"I wasn't afraid." I grumbled and lowered myself down after him. I landed on a massive plant and panicked for only a moment before closing myself and reminding myself to calm down.

"That's it, stay calm and you'll slide right through." Severus spoke from somewhere below me. I did as he instructed and gently slid through to the ground below. "They definitely made it through here." Severus kicked a piece of the snare that had gotten chopped off. I imagined it was probably Ron, for no other reason than the fact that the boy couldn't be calm if his life depended on it.

We continued on down the corridor, the tips of our wands illuminating the way.

"Who do you think would try to steal the stone, Professor?" I asked as he led me through the tunnel.

Severus seemed to contemplate for a second before setting his mind, "I don't know for certain but I suspect Quirrell is somehow involved."

"Professor Quirrell, the DA teacher?" I was taken aback. The man was a stuttering mess. I remembered Severus complaining about him before I even started school here.

My godfather sneered. "Yes, the idiot Headmaster Dumbledore gave my position to."

I frowned and we continued on in silence, sloping down until it felt like we were half way through the core of the planet to America. Eventually we came to a room filled with buzzing. Severus swung the door back and revealed a room filled with ancient keys with wings on them, like bugs. I cringed a little.

"How are your flying skills?" Severus asked. "I've always been a dismal flier."

I gave the man a wry smile. "Come on, Godfather, think of who you're speaking to."

Severus only rolled his eyes. He scanned the keys for a moment then pointed to the far right corner of the room. "See that one over there, with the broken wing, that's the one we need." I followed his finger and found the one he was pointing at.

I mounted one of the brooms situated in the corner and, with a steadying breath, took off after the key. It took me a while, I was no seeker. But I was very, very fast and eventually managed to outrun the stupid hunk of brass, though I almost crashed into the door. When I landed back on the ground, sweating and breathing hard, the struggling key clutched in my grasp, Severus only gave me a disdainful look. I stuck my tongue out at him like a child and shoved the key into the door.

The next room was on fire. It took me a moment to adjust from the darkness before and then I nearly fell back on my rear out of fright. The room was a giant chess board and most of the pieces were smashed to bits and/or on fire. With a gasp I saw Ron and Hermione in one corner. Ron was laid out on the ground with blood seeping from his forehead and Hermione was struggling to get him up.

"Ron! Hermione! What happened? Where's Harry?" I raced across the magnificent chess board.

"We had to play a chess game to continue and Ron gave himself up as sacrifice so Harry could go through. There's a troll in the next room that's been knocked out and then I had to turn back because there was only enough potion for- Snape?!" Hermione said this all in one breath and then looked as if she had seen a ghost. "What are you doing, Elizabeth, he's trying to steal the stone!"

"You blithering fools, of course I'm not trying to steal the stone, if you would have just come to one of us, you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place." As Snape spat this at her the doors swung open again and McGonagall flew into the room.

"I will take them to the hospital wing, Severus." She told him after being filled in on what happened. She levitated Ron and led Hermione out. "Are you coming, Elizabeth?" She turned back just before leaving.

"No, Professor, I'm going to help my Godfather find Harry." Something in my tone must have given her pause because she just pressed her lips and left the room. Severus gave me a disapproving look but didn't argue.

I followed him past the sleeping troll and into another room with more fire. Severus reached into his bag and pulled out a vial of potion. "Drink this and you can walk through the fire without being harmed." He said, handing me the vial and then swigging his own down. I did as he instructed.

When we reached the boundary of the fire, close enough that I could feel the heat, I hesitated. "It's like the fire we use to floo." Severus told me and stepped through. Nodding at the logic in his statement I closed my eyes and took a step forward, just as I had to when I crossed the barrier at King's Cross. When I didn't immediately feel excruciating pain I opened my eyes and found myself on the other side of the flames. Severus gave me a proud smile then continued on through the next door. I was almost afraid of what other challenges we could possibly face and was grateful that I was doing this with an experienced wizard who knew exactly what lay ahead of us and not three kids who had no idea what they were doing.

The last room was also on fire and crumpled in the center of it was Harry. He held a red stone in his hand and I ran to him.

"Hold on, Elizabeth!" Severus said, drawing his wand. I didn't listen to him and went to Harry, who was passed out cold. I checked for a pulse and found that he was breathing and his heart was pumping. Breathing a sigh of relief, I did my best to wake him but it was to no avail. After determining that Professor Quirrell, or whoever was attempting to steal the stone, was not in the room, Severus joined us and picked Harry up in to his arms.

"Foolish, foolish boy." He muttered and carried him back through the different chambers and all the way up to the hospital wing. The look in his eyes when he had picked Harry up haunted me as I followed. It was a crazed look of desperation, and fear. The kind of fear you feel when you're afraid of losing someone you love. I studied Severus out of the corner of my eye but his face remained stoic after that. I didn't know what to think of that look. I knew he loved Lily, Harry's mother, but I thought that made him loathe Harry. But maybe I was wrong.

Dumbledore returned from whatever secret business he was conducting and found that it had indeed been Professor Quirrell attempting to steal the stone. Apparently, Harry had killed him with love, or some other equally obscure form of rare magic. After the incident the stone was destroyed, and things went back to normal. Harry woke up and, while he acknowledged that obviously he was wrong about Severus and the stone, he still thought he was evil and up to no good. It made me sad that Harry would never know it was Severus who saved him, as he made me promise not to tell, and instead he got the crazy idea that it was me who had come to his rescue, speaking of bravery and loyalty.

I had drawn in on myself when Harry thanked me for saving him and calling me all those nice things, because they weren't true. I wasn't brave. I had panicked in the Devil's Snare, cringed at the flying keys, almost fallen over at the sight of the chess pieces, and balked at the fire that Severus had passed through without hesitation. I had even cowered behind the couch while Neville bravely confronted them in the common room. I felt like a coward and a fraud.

When we gathered in the Hall for the final feast and Professor Dumbledore gave us the house cup because of the event with the Sorcerer's Stone, I felt even worse. We were being rewarded for plowing headfirst into danger instead of running to get a teacher, Ron almost got killed, Harry almost got killed, and Dumbledore rewarded us for it. The only one who actually deserved the points, and who got the least amount, was Neville. However, the smile on Neville's face, for being the reason Gryffindor won the house cup, almost made the feeling of unease completely disappear.

I sat with Neville and Curly, Larry and Mo on the way home. I wasn't as nervous as last time because at least now I knew what to expect. But it still didn't make me feel very excited about going home.

"Elizabeth," Neville began shyly, "I was thinking maybe you'd like to come meet my Gran. I sort of-er- well, I told her about you and she told me I need to bring you to see her."

I was very pleased by his offer, "I would love to, Neville. Owl me when you'd like for me to visit and I'll ask my aunt and uncle."

"Great!" Neville seemed relieved by my answer and we played Exploding Snap the rest of the train ride. Harry looked more and more glum the closer we got to King's Cross. I couldn't blame him. I'd heard rumors of the conditions he lived under. He was far worse off than I was and I dreaded going home. I couldn't imagine how he felt.

An hour later I departed from my Gryffindor friends with an encouraging smile directed at Harry, a hug from Hermione (to my great discomfort), a reassurance to Neville and a smirk in Ron's direction then I walked across the platform and looped arms with my cousin before meeting up with the rest of my family.

Neville had written me almost right away. Within a week of being home, I was woken up to an owl tapping on my window. My aunt and uncle had given disapproving looks but they hadn't said no and so I found myself standing in the middle of a cluttered, slightly smelly, very… vintage… living room. The sofas were an outdated floral print, the walls were covered in faded wall paper, doilies decorated almost every horizontal surface and cats milled about the room.

I brushed the floo powder off my robes and straightened my hair then jumped when suddenly Neville called out, "Elizabeth!" He rushed into the room and pulled me into a bear hug. I stood stiffly and he released me. Neville's face flushed crimson and I'm sure mine was only a shade or two away from his.

Straightening my clothes, I cleared my throat. "So where is this Gran I've heard so much about?"

"I'm here." A woman walked into the room, tall and stern looking, reminding me a bit of Professor McGonagall. "You must be Elizabeth." She said. I dropped into a small curtsy.

"Pleased to meet you Mrs. Longbottom."

The old woman smiled for a second before turning to her grandson. "Neville, where are your manners? Invite the girl in for tea," she snapped and I finally understood Neville's irrational fear of his grandmother. She was every bit an old pureblood witch. When she said something, it was a command and she was to be obeyed.

Neville rushed to oblige, leading me into the next room, which was similarly decorated but instead of a couch, the main piece of furniture was a table. Tea was already pouring itself as Neville held out a chair for me and I took my seat.

"So tell me about yourself, Elizabeth. Who are your parents?"

I choked on the tea I had just taken a sip of. Gently patting my face and dress with a napkin, I used the delay to compose myself before answering. "I never met my parents, Ma'am."

"Please, call me Augusta, dear." She pat my hand. "Do you know who they are?"

"Well… yes." I looked at Neville. He really didn't tell her who I was before inviting me to see her? The look he gave me in return was apologetic.

"Do you always speak so vaguely, child? I am merely trying to get to know you."

"I was raised by the Malfoys, ma-Augusta. My mother was a muggleborn witch, her name was Melanie. My father… My father is Sirius Black."

The spoon Augusta was using to pour sugar into her tea clanged to the table.

"Neville! You didn't tell me your friend was Elizabeth Black!" She yelled at her grandson. I flinched at her tone and I looked to the door, wondering if I could escape quickly. "Come child," She said to me, standing and grabbing me by the arm. I resisted as she dragged me around the table and grabbed Neville by the arm, but for an old woman she was unreasonably strong. Suddenly I felt a weird sensation around my navel. A second too late I recognized it as the feeling of sidelong apperation.

We landed in a hospital room and I had the sense enough to land gracefully on the balls of my feet. I didn't get much time to bet my bearings before Augusta was dragging me across the room to stop in front of a couple sitting in chairs across the table from each other.

"Alice! Frank! Look who it is!" She said to the couple and then I realized where we were. St. Mungo's psych ward. And sitting in front of me were Frank and Alice Longbottom. I panicked and in the most unladylike fashion, broke into tears. I wasn't ready for this. I couldn't face them. I turned away with a sob but Augusta held me in a strong grip. "Calm down, child." She scolded and then turned my face towards Neville's parents. "Look, do you recognize her? You were there the day she was born. She looks just like Melanie! I can't believe I didn't see it right away."

Neville's parents stared at me blankly and Augusta looked crestfallen. She turned to me and I flinched. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I thought maybe they would recognize you. Your mother and Alice were very good friends. Your parents and my son and daughter-in-law spent a lot of time together. Child, why are you crying?" She looked startled.

I tried to stop the flow of tears but was unable to. I'd thought she brought me here to punish me for what my aunt had done. I realized now that was a little silly but still couldn't control my sobs as I looked at Frank and Alice, calmly watching the whole situation in a detached sort of way. I approached them slowly, legs shaking with every step. I opened my mouth to say something but instead fell into a heap on the floor and sobbed into my hands. I knew I was making a scene, being dramatic, but I couldn't help myself. Nor did I care what anyone thought.

"What's the matter, little girl?" Alice said in a gentle tone, drawing me to my feet.

"I'm so sorry." I looked into her eyes as I said it. And while I could tell she didn't truly understand what I was talking about, kindness and compassion radiated from her.

"It's okay." She stroked my hair gently. "I forgive you." She drew me into her arms and I sobbed into her shoulder. I knew she didn't know what she was saying but I felt like I was finally able to breathe. "You know, you remind me of someone I used to know." She said and my heart stopped for a second then kicked up into a rapid tempo.

"Who?" I asked, hoping she would say it.

Alice seemed to concentrate for a minute but grew more and more agitated the longer she thought about it until suddenly she screamed and clutched her head, chanting words that didn't make sense then she wasn't speaking words at all, more making garbled sounds than anything. She spasmed a few times and fell to the floor. Frank started muttering things under his breath. A medic ran in and told us to back up and eased Alice into her bed.

I watched the whole scene in horror. When I glanced back at Neville he looked pale but not horrified, as if this were something he'd witnessed often. I attempted to swallow past the lump in my throat.

"Come on," Augusta sighed. "We'd best be leaving now." She gave Frank a kiss on the cheek and Neville gave him a quick hug, then he glanced at his mother and followed Augusta to the other side of the room. I hesitated and then followed along, horrified at what I had just witnessed. Augusta grabbed my arm and we apparated back into her living room.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Neville said in a subdued voice. In that moment he looked and sounded far older than his 11 years.

"Do they do that often?" I asked once I found my voice.

"Anytime they try to remember or think too hard."

"That's awful, Neville. It's terrible that you have to see that."

"Neville should see it, and you should too." Augusta said sharply. "That is the price they paid for you, me, Neville, everyone in the wizarding world, to bring down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They sacrificed their minds, your mother sacrificed her life, your father his freedom-"

"My father didn't sacrifice anything except for his humanity." I interrupted sharply.

Augusta clicked her tongue. "I could fill a book with the things you don't know, girl." She shook her head sadly.

"I-It's getting late, I think I better head home now." I said. Neville gave me a sad look.

"I'm sorry about-" he began.

"It's okay Neville. I'll see you at school." I interrupted.

"Yeah, see ya." He said glumly. I felt bad for my friend. He couldn't catch a break; he was tormented by bullies at school and by the ghosts of his parents at home.

"Write me, okay?" I said to him before stepping into the fireplace.

"I promise." He gave me a small smile and I flooed home.

I found my aunt and uncle in the study and gave them both light hugs.

"What was that for?" Narcissa asked. I think it was the first time I'd ever hugged either of them and Lucius looked as if he didn't know how to respond.

"I just realized family is something we shouldn't take for granted. And I appreciate that you took me in when you didn't have to."

Narcissa squeezed my hand and Lucius pat my shoulder, the most affection I'd received from him in my entire life.

The rest of the summer passed by uneventfully. It was much less gloomy after the first two weeks. Draco and I spent most of our time on broomsticks, preparing for tryouts next year. I couldn't wait to try out for chaser.

The day finally came around and we were back on that train. Being a second year, naturally I felt like I was queen of the school. I knew what to expect and therefore I knew everything. I told this to a bunch of first years trying to find a compartment, asking annoying questions about the school and sorting. I didn't tell them, of course, because that would ruin the fun, but I did make sure that they knew I knew because, as I said before, I was a second year.

My first surprise came when we didn't take the boats to the castle. Instead we rode to the castle on self-driving carriages. I looked on in wonder, though Neville stared at the front of the carriages in fright. I asked Neville what was wrong but he didn't seem able to form words that particular moment.

My second surprise came when I noticed the lack of annoying, mouth filled with food, babble and I realized Ron Weasley was missing. And so was Harry Potter. As the first years got sorted and the feast began I grew more and more concerned about Harry's absence. I hoped the Dursley's hadn't sent him home. I didn't think that was the case, as Ron was also missing while his siblings were all here, including his younger sister Ginny, who was much more pleasant than her rat-toting brother. I had to assume they were probably off somewhere, before the school year even started, causing trouble.

After dinner, I retired to bed right away and fell into a deep sleep. I slept much better at Hogwarts than anywhere else. It had started to feel like home to me. My dormmates still ignored me for the most part, it didn't bother me too much. I knew how they saw me. I was cold and aloof, and it was intentional.

The next day Harry and Ron showed up at breakfast. I didn't question them. I'd almost rather not know. School passed by in a blur as I counted down the days to Quidditch tryouts. Finally, the day came.

I marched out to the Quidditch pitch with my new broom in hand. There were at least a dozen other students trying out, most of them older than me. I gulped nervously but kept my face neutral.

"What are you doing here, your Highness?" Lavender Brown, one of my dormmates who usually ignored me drawled. The girl she was with, I didn't know her name, sneered at me.

"I'm here to tryout, same as you." I told her calmly and pulled my hair into a pony tail.

Lavender laughed. "But you might break a nail!" She dramatically gasped. "Or, Heavens, mess up your hair." Her friend pretended to fan herself like she was about to pass out. I wore my best ice queen look and stared straight ahead as the current team showed off, running around the Quidditch pitch.

"Alright, everyone, round up on me!" the captain called in his Scottish accent. I think Oliver Wood was the very first boy I'd ever had a crush on. I hoped that wouldn't affect my performance today. Also on the team were the Weasley twins, as beaters, Angelina Jones and Alicia Spinnet as the chasers, and of course, Harry was their seeker. Really the only spot that was open was Chaser and second string. This was my year.

"We're going to start with some warm up exercises then we'll run some drills, rotating out each person trying out." He looked around at each of us. "This is our year, Lions. We're going to win the cup." Oliver winked at me and my heart nearly fell into my stomach.

The warm up exercises weeded out half the would-be's. It was intense. We flew 100 laps around the quidditch pitch. If I hadn't trained so hard I don't know if I'd have made it. I was more of a speed than distance kind of person, though I had enough stamina to keep up with Harry during the laps. I took it easy at first because I didn't want to waste all my energy showing off and then have everyone laugh at me when I started falling behind.

Next we did passing until my arms felt like they were about to fall off. Then we did sprints, during which I couldn't help but show off a bit. Oliver gave me an approving look after I'd beaten everyone in my heat each time. I nearly fell off my broom.

One of the Weasley twins must have noticed because they sidled up to either side of me when we were allowed a break.

"Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen the Ice Queen with a single hair out of place." One of them teased. "Oh my, is that sweat?" The other gave my shoulder an offended look.

"Piss off Weasleys." I said without any malice.

"So, princess," One began.

"We noticed the looks you were giving our fearless leader." The other finished. I really needed to get them figured out.

"Got something to tell?" The one on my left waggled his eyebrows.

"Oi, George, leave the girl alone." Harry approached us, water bottle in hand. The one on my left, George apparently, threw an arm over my shoulder. I gave him a disapproving look.

"We're just having a bit of fun. If her majesty is to join our team, she needs to get accustomed to our sense of humor." He told Harry.

"You really think he'll put me on the team?" I asked hopefully.

"Come on, you flew circles around those other guys."

George's 'pep talk' had me pumped up for the rest of try outs. I forgot about my stupid girly crush and attacked the game with a fury, making far passes and acrobatic catches; weaving, ducking diving, plowing right through people, to score goal after goal. I played my absolute best. When it was all over and we sat in the bleachers awaiting judgement, I wore a small smile because I knew no matter what happened, I gave it my all and if they didn't pick me it was because I wasn't ready yet, not because I didn't try hard enough.

"Alright, everyone excellent work," Oliver began. "I saw some real talent out there, and some real potential. We only had one spot open this year so if you didn't get picked, don't be discouraged. Try again next year and the year after that. Don't quit."

The faces around me looked exhausted and wary, like they knew what was going to happen. "I'd like everyone to give a big congratulations to our new chaser, Elizabeth Black."

It was only years of discipline that kept my face in a careful mask, rather than breaking into a great smile or falling into dramatic sobs. I accepted their praise elegantly, as I'd been taught to do but inside I was exploding in ecstasy. I was no Harry Potter, of course, but making chaser my first year trying out is a pretty big accomplishment, it was something to be proud of. I didn't catch any of the second string, except Katy Bell who was chosen as second string chaser.

"See, we knew you could-" One twin, I think Fred, began.

"-do it." George finished for him, slinging his arm over my shoulder again. I rolled my eyes at him and shook Harry's offered hand.

"Congratulations, Elizabeth." He looked proud and I beamed under his praise. George let go of me and a hand fell on my shoulder. I looked up to meet Oliver's eyes and give a small smile.

"Well done, Elizabeth, you did excellent. Fair warning, this year is going to be rough. I've got a plan to destroy Slytherin but it's going to take a lot of time and commitment. Are you on board with this?"

"Hell yeah, they're going down!" I answered and several of my teammates hooted and whooped, yelling out, "Down with the snakes!"

I left the Quidditch pitch on cloud nine. Of course the first thing I did was run over to the Slytherin table, my sworn enemies on the pitch, and gloat to Draco.

"Guess what?!" I called, planting myself between him and Theo. "I made the Gryffindor team."

"Now we know we've got the win in the bag." Blaise teased over his shoulder.

"Shove it, Zambini." I retorted without really thinking about it.

"I'll have you know." Draco's chest swelled. "I made the team too. As Seeker."

"Yeah because your father bought everyone new brooms." Theo mumbled under his breath.

"Congratulations, Draco." And I meant it, even if it was skewed in his favor. I knew he wasn't nearly as good a seeker as Harry. "Just don't go telling them all my secret moves." I warned.

"No promises." He smirked.

"I'll charmed your brook to stick to your pants, you prat, so don't even think about it." I warned him, only half-jokingly. Draco rolled his eyes as if he wasn't intimidated.

I gave Theo a playful wink before standing, "See ya, Snakes." I hissed and walked back to my table.

My life became Quidditch, as Oliver promised. It was eat, sleep, breath quidditch. I woke up each morning groggy and went to bed each night tired. My grades had started to slip until Hermione intervened.

"Looks like I'm going to have no competition for top student this year." She said smugly and the sly little witch actually got me to pull my head out of my arse and start studying again.

When weird stuff started popping up, I didn't pay it much mind at first. The words painted on the walls, I wasn't there but I heard about it, and Filch's cat, the rumors about Slytherin's heir circulating, I barely even bat an eye at until they started mentioning my name.

"I mean, you know who her father is-"

"I'll bet you she enjoys killing-"

"I never see her actually look Happy-"

It was a toss up between who they accused the most: Draco, Harry or me. I felt even more isolated than normal. People didn't want to be seen near me and they all stared as I walked down the halls. The person who took it upon themselves to make me feel better was Harry. He started walking with me to classes, throwing people mean looks when they whispered right in front of me. I started doing the same thing for him and I felt our friendship start to form, bonding through the struggle of being outcasts as well as the pain of keeping up with Oliver's training schedule.


	8. Chapter 8

Finally, the day had come. First match of the season. First match of my life. I was too nervous to eat anything as we sat at the table for breakfast.

"Butterflies?" Harry asked suddenly, startling me. At my confused look he gave a patient smile. "I was so nervous before my first game, I almost threw up."

I gave him a small smile. "Nervous? Me? No way." I waved my hand then swiped the hair off my shoulder. Harry nodded, pretending to believe my front.

"You're right, you've got absolutely nothing to be worried about." He nudged my shoulder and then we stood to make our way down to the quidditch pitch. After getting dressed, Oliver Wood sat us down for our pregame pep talk. His talks only served to make me more nauseous. I maintained an unaffected face though. I was an excellent liar, Oliver seemed to believe it anyways.

"Slytherin has better brooms than us," he began. "No point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms." He paused to wink at me, fraying what little nerves I had left. "We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers —"("Too true," muttered George Weasley. "I haven't been properly dry since August") "— and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team." My face twisted into a grimace. I didn't think Oliver knew Draco was my cousin, or he wouldn't have been quite so harsh. I did want to beat Draco, I really, truly, desperately did, but he's still my cousin.

Chest heaving with emotion after his spiel, Wood turned to Harry.

"It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."

"So no pressure, Harry" said Fred, winking at him. I reached over George and gave Harry a reassuring shoulder squeeze, the equivalent of a bear hug from me. Harry gave me a grateful smile. We all stood up and I asked him, "Butterflies?"

"Nervous? Me? No way." He apparently felt fine enough to tease. I gave him a light elbow to the ribs.

As we walked out onto the pitch, a roar of noise greeted us; mainly cheers, because Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were anxious to see Slytherin beaten, but the Slytherins in the crowd made their boos and hisses heard, too. Madam Hooch, the Quidditch teacher, asked Flint and Wood to shake hands, which they did, giving each other threatening stares and gripping rather harder than was necessary.

"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three… two… one…"

With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rose toward the leaden sky. I took off like a dart in the move I'd practiced a thousand times. The quicker we were able to get into position, the more advantage we held over Slytherin. I was gone before anyone was able to catch up and Angela made a long toss across the pitch to where I was still racing. I glanced over my shoulder for only a fraction of a second, enough to gauge where the ball was coming, and then I gave another burst of speed to catch it then loped the ball through the right hoop before the keeper even knew what hit him.

Off to a great start.

The subsequent plays did not go so well. We managed to get them at first mostly using the element of surprise but after that, there was no way for us to outrun their brooms. I'd never seen them move so fast. The game required so much of my focus, I wasn't able to spare even a glance to see how my cousin or Harry were doing.

I flew my absolute hardest. However, it was for naught. The first score was the only point we got on the board for the next thirty minutes. Rain fell, only making the game that much tougher. I thought I was prepared for this, I was severely mistaken. I took two bludgers to the ribs (Fred and George were no where to be found and I had been too preoccupied with the ball tucked under my arm to notice). The first time I dropped the quaffle but the second time I managed to hang on to it, only to be plowed over by one of the larger Slytherins.

I went keening and only managed to right myself when Madam Hooch's whistle rang out. I assumed she was calling the foul but then I saw Harry, Fred, and George diving for the ground, trying to avoid a mad Bludger. It almost looked like it was aiming at them.

"What's going on?" said Wood as the Gryffindor team huddled together, while Slytherins in the crowd jeered. "We're being flattened. Fred, George, where were you when that Bludger stopped Elizabeth from scoring?"

"We were twenty feet above her, stopping the other Bludger from murdering Harry, Oliver," said George angrily. "Someone's fixed it — it won't leave Harry alone. It hasn't gone for anyone else all game. The Slytherins must have done something to it."

"But the Bludgers have been locked in Madam Hooch's office since our last practice, and there was nothing wrong with them then…" said Oliver, anxiously. Madam Hooch was walking toward us.

"Listen," said Harry as she came nearer and nearer, "with you two flying around me all the time the only way I'm going to catch the Snitch is if it flies up my sleeve. Go back to the rest of the team and let me deal with the rogue one. I don't want Elizabeth or anyone else getting hurt because you guys are focusing on me."

"Don't be thick," said Fred. "It'll take your head off."

Oliver was looking from Harry to the Weasleys to me and Angela.

"Oliver, this is insane," said Alicia angrily. "You can't let Harry deal with that thing on his own. Let's ask for an inquiry…"

"I agree." I wheezed.

"If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit the match!" said Harry. "And we're not losing to Slytherin just because of a crazy Bludger! Come on, Oliver, tell them to leave me alone!"

"This is all your fault," George said angrily to Wood. "'Get the Snitch or die trying,' what a stupid thing to tell him —"

Madam Hooch had joined us.

"Ready to resume play?" she asked Wood.

Wood looked at the determined look on Harry's face.

"All right," he said. "Fred, George, you heard Harry — leave him alone and let him deal with the Bludger on his own."

"Ol-" I began to protest.

"I'm your Captain, Elizabeth, and you'll do as I tell you." Oliver scolded. I set my jaw and challenged his stare but he refused to back down.

"Harry, this is ins-" I spun around to confront Harry but he was already taking to the sky.

The rain was falling more heavily now. On Madam Hooch's whistle, we kicked hard into the air. I spent the rest of the game so worried about Harry, and Draco getting caught in the cross fire, that I played terribly. I missed passes and got hit by bludgers and other players and had the quaffel stolen right out from my fingertips. But it made me so anxious watching Harry duck and swerve and dive and narrowly miss losing his head time and time again.

"Black!" Wood screamed from his spot at the goal post. "Get your head in the game or you'll spend the next week flying laps all practice." Grimacing I nodded and shot one last glance at Harry, just in time to see- WHAM.

The Bludger had hit him at last, smashed into his elbow, and I watched Harry's arm bend into an unnatural angle.

"Harry!" I shouted and raced towards him as he slid sideways on his broom. But then I watched him do the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life, with one knee still crooked over the broom, his right arm dangling useless at his side — the Bludger came pelting back for a second attack, this time zooming at his face — Harry swerved out of the way and then dove. He took his remaining hand off his broom and made a wild snatch, fingers closing on the Snitch right as I finally reached him. Unable to slow down enough from the speed I had been going, I crashed into him as he slipped off his broom, careening us sideways. I held on as tight as I could while slowing and lowering us down to the ground.

Harry seemed to momentarily black out from the pain before coming back to once we hit the ground. "Aha," he said vaguely. "We've won."

And he fainted. I pulled out my wand but before I was able to do anything, Gilderoy Lockhart, of all the idiots on God's green earth, ran up to us and took my wand. "You are a student, young Lady. I will not have you performing this type of magic on a fellow student."

This seemed to wake Harry up because before I could retort, Harry groaned. "Oh, no, not you."

"Doesn't know what he's saying," said Lockhart loudly to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors pressing around us. "Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm."

"No!" said Harry. "I'll keep it like this, thanks…"

He tried to sit up, but I pressed his shoulder down. "Sir, I don't think…" Click.

"I don't want a photo of this, Colin," Harry said loudly.

"Lie back, Harry," said Lockhart soothingly. "It's a simple charm I've used countless times —"

"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" said Harry through clenched teeth.

"He should really, Professor," said a muddy Wood, who couldn't help grinning even though his Seeker was injured. "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say —"

I glared at him and his grin fell.

"Stand back," said Lockhart, who was rolling up his jade-green sleeves.

"No — don't —" said Harry weakly, but Lockhart was twirling his wand and a second later had directed it straight at Harry's arm.

After Lockhart uttered the spell, Harry's arm remained at a weird angle. Only this time it wasn't a sharp angle, it was rounded like rubber.

"Ah," said Lockhart. "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Harry, just toddle up to the hospital wing — Miss Black, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you escort him? — and Madam Pomfrey will be able to — er — tidy you up a bit."

I stared in shock. Lockhart hadn't mended Harry's bones. He had removed them.

Madam Pomfrey wasn't at all pleased.

"You should have come straight to me!" she raged, holding up the sad, limp remainder of what, half an hour before, had been a working arm. "I can mend bones in a second — but growing them back — Elizabeth, you of all people know better!"

"I know, I tried, I was just about to levitate him when Lockhart showed up.

"You will be able to, won't you?" Harry interrupted desperately. "Regrow my bones, I mean."

"I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful," said Madam Pomfrey grimly, throwing Harry a pair of pajamas. "You'll have to stay the night…"

Hermione and I stepped outside the curtain while Ron helped Harry change.

"How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione, eh?" Ron called through the curtain. "If Harry had wanted deboning he would have asked."

"Anyone can make a mistake," said Hermione. "And it doesn't hurt anymore, does it, Harry?"

"No," said Harry, getting into bed. "But it doesn't do anything else either."

"Seriously, Hermione? The dude's a lunatic."

Madam Pomfrey came in holding a large bottle of Skele-Gro. I grimaced.

"You're in for a rough night," she said, pouring out a steaming beakerful and handing it to him. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business."

Still tut-tutting about dangerous sports and inept teachers, Madam Pomfrey retreated, leaving us to help Harry gulp down some water. "We won, though," said Ron, a grin breaking across his face. "That was some catch you made. Malfoy's face… he looked ready to kill…"

"I want to know how he fixed that Bludger," said Hermione darkly.

"We can add that to the list of questions we'll ask him when we've taken the Polyjuice Potion," said Harry, sinking back onto his pillows. "I hope it tastes better than this stuff…"

"If it's got bits of Slytherins in it? You've got to be joking," said Ron.

"Polyjuice potion?" I raised my eyebrows, not sure if I actually wanted to know. Harry looked about to explain when the door of the hospital wing burst open. Filthy and soaking wet, the rest of the Gryffindor team had arrived to see Harry.

"Unbelievable flying, Harry," said George. "I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy." They had brought cakes, sweets, and bottles of pumpkin juice; they gathered around Harry's bed and were just getting started on what promised to be a good party when Madam Pomfrey came storming over, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow! Out! OUT!"

I gave Harry a sad smile and followed the gang out of the hospital wing.

"Hell of a first game, eh?" Fred elbowed me in the ribs after we entered the common room. I drew in a sharp breath of air, clutching my ribs. "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just took a few bludgers to the ribs because my beaters weren't watching my back." I snapped and then instantly regretted it. Both Twins' faces fell.

"We didn't mean," Fred started.

"We were just looking out for Harry." George finished.

"I know. I didn't mean it. You can't be two places at once and Harry needed you. I should have been paying more attention." I said miserably. I was tired, sore, dirty, worried about Harry and now guilty about snapping at the Weasleys for something that wasn't their fault. "I think I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." I said glumly and quickly retreated.

The shower, normally my best friend, was miserable. I couldn't lift my left arm above my head because of the pain. I waited until I was scrubbed clean before looking at the damage then cringed. The entire left side of my torso was covered in dark nasty bruises. I probably cracked a rib.

Ignoring my roommates when I left the bathroom, I broke into my potions stash. I wasn't nearly as well stocked as the hospital wing but I'd dealt with my fair share of broken bones and gnarly bruises over the years I'd been playing quidditch. I'd developed a skill for patching myself and my cousin up after numerous injuries and so I kept some of the disgusting potion in my stash for that reason, as well as a mild pain reliever. After binding my ribs, I laid down to bed and, despite Lavender's incessant gossip, was able to fall asleep easily.

The next morning I didn't wake up until well after breakfast due to the pain relief potion. Luckily it was a Saturday so I wasn't late to class. Moving slowly, I got dressed and meandered downstairs, intending to make my way down to the dungeons. Half way there, I ran into one of my targets, heading in the same direction I was.

"Draco, hey." I greeted. My cousin looked awful. He looked like he hadn't really showered the night before, nor had he slept. The bags under his eyes looked thick enough to sleep on.

"Hello cousin, have you come to gloat?" He sneered. I really did catch him in a bad mood.

"Of course not. I was coming to make sure you were okay, especially with that rogue bludger and all."

"Oh, right." Draco sighed. "Yeah, I got close a few times but it didn't take me out. Are you heading downstairs?" He asked when I kept pace with him.

"Yeah, I'm going to see Severus too. What did you think of your first game?"

"It was awful. Flint flayed me alive after the game. I haven't had the courage to face the team yet." He admitted. I grimaced.

"To be fair, the play Harry made was reckless and insane. I truly played awful. The worst I've ever played in my life."

"I know. How do your ribs feel, by the way?"

I looked at him, surprised. "They're healing, I took some potion last night. How did you know…"

"Why do you think I missed the snitch right by my head?" He asked. I raised my eyebrows in question. "I was busy watching out for you. Lord knows the Weasleys were too absorbed with precious Harry Potter, someone had to look out for you. I almost fell off my broom when that bludger took you out the first time."

In an unexpected and more than rare move, I stopped and wrapped my arms around Draco's torso. After a moment of surprise he hugged me back gently.

"I think, in the end," I pulled back and straightened my clothes. "It's just going to be you and me. No one else is going to have our backs, not our parents, not our friends, not this school. None but each other. But that's enough."

Draco paused a moment to think about it then nodded. "You're right. And that's enough. Don't go thinking this means I actually like your or anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I shoulder bumped him and he bumped me back then we departed ways, him to face his team, and me to seek my Godfather.

"Do you know why that bludger was going after Harry?" My godfather was sitting behind his desk with his wand hovering over the bludgers in question. The older man raised his eyebrows at me, the only acknowledgement of my existence for the next seven minutes. Then he set his wand down and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"It seems to be elf magic." He stated blandly. "It's the only magic powerful and obscure enough to have managed this kind of a jinx."

My lips twisted. "What would a house elf want with Harry? Why would they try to hurt him?" I thought to the only house elf I really knew anything about, Dobby. Imagining sweet Dobby, or a creature like him, trying to hurt Harry was unthinkable. It didn't seem within the realm of possibility.

"I've no idea. But the door to Madam Hooch's office remained locked with a spell and the only people who can apparate inside of Hogwarts are house elves. And the only creatures that can leave an untraceable spell like this are house elves. It just doesn't make sense."

"You think it's related to the Chamber of Secrets? That's all anyone's really talking about. Maybe because his mom was a muggle born?" It seemed far fetched but it was an idea.

"It seems too big a coincidence to not be related to the opening of the Chamber, but I don't think this involves a student."

"Will Harry be benched until we figure out who's got it out for him?" I took the seat across from my godfather, wringing my hands.

"I can recommend it but you know how that'll sound coming from me. For all I know, the boy probably suspects I'm behind the attack." Severus rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but mimic him.

"You're probably right. If you let me tell him what you did for him last semester, and how you feel-"

"You have no idea what you are talking about." He said sharply. I met his glare with a matching one. Severus Snape didn't intimidate me. And maybe that was the point. He knew if people knew him the way I did, no one would be intimidated by him and that was his biggest defense mechanism.

"You're right, I'm sorry. What's going to be done about the Chamber?"

"I have no idea. We've been trying to find it for weeks. We have no idea how it even came open." He looked older then, like the stress was weighing on him.

"I can look into it a little if you want. I'm sure Hermione and the wonder twins know something about it that they're not letting on to anyone."

"You will do no such thing, young lady. I don't want you getting involved in any of this. And if you do hear something I want it brought straight to me, don't go investigating further."

"Yes, sir." I smirked and the old man gave an exasperated sigh as I left his classroom.

After my meeting with Severus, despite his warnings, I sought out Hermione. She was, as I'd assumed, in the library.

"Hey, Hermione." I sat down next to her. She didn't acknowledge me for a bit. "I need to know what you know about the Chamber of Secrets." I said and she set her book down instantly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She responded airily.

I rolled my eyes. "I know you and Beevus and Butthead have something brewing in your minds. Harry mentioned Polyjuice Potion." I waggled my eyebrows at her.

Hermione groaned. "That boy has no concept of keeping a secret." She paused for a moment. "You're not going to like it." She said after a moment.

I gave her my best 'lay it on me' look. Hermione sighed and admitted. "We think it's Draco." I groaned. "We're going to take Polyjuice potion to make ourselves look like Slytherins to get a confession out of him."

I stared at Hermione for several beats and then I laughed. "This is what the dream team came up with? You've got to be kidding me." After being shushed by the librarian, I quieted my giggles. "I'm going to find out what this thing is all about and who's got it out for Harry. You guys feel free to question my cousin. I might ask to come along just for the entertainment value."

I continued to chuckle as I left the library, nearly running over the youngest Weasley in the process. "Ginny, right?" I asked, seeming to startle her. The girl looked even worse than Draco had this morning. She almost looked haunted. She had deep bags under her bloodshot eyes, made more obvious by her sallow skin. Her hair was unwashed and she was fidgety, rubbing at her elbows and glancing around.

"Are you alright?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her focused.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… not sleeping well is all." She admitted. I sympathized.

"It's hard the first year, getting used to living away from home and living with a bunch of strangers. Plus the pressures of school work. I totally get it. But you can't let that kind of stuff get to you. You've got to find some time to relax and do things you enjoy." I told her.

"Yeah, you're right." She gave a small smile. "Thanks." She sped away quickly. I furrowed my eyebrows. I should let the Weasley twins know she's not adjusting well. I hesitated to face them though.

Almost as if summoned by my thoughts, I ran into the twins when I reached the end of the hallway toward the Great Hall. I almost bolted but I knew that would only make it worse.

"Hey Fred, George," I began, "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I shouldn't have said that to you."

"No, it's okay. We should apologize," Fred began.

"It was our job to keep you from getting hurt and we failed." George said.

"You were trusting us to cover you." Fred added.

"How is Harry doing, have you seen him?" I asked.

"Not since yesterday, like you." George said.

"He'll be fine. How are you doing?" Fred asked.

"I'm okay." I scratched my elbow unconsciously, which made me think of my weird encounter with Ginny. "Hey, is your sister doing okay?"

"Ginny?" George asked and I wanted to roll my eyes and say, no your other sister.

But instead I said, "Yeah, I ran into her in the hallway, almost literally, and she didn't look so good. She said she's not sleeping well. Maybe you should check in on her."

"We will." Fred said.

"Thanks for letting us know." George clapped my shoulder and then the twins went back the way I came.

I learned that day at lunch that Colin Creevy, the kid who was trying to take Harry's picture when he was hit by the bludger had been petrified like Filch's cat the night before. My unease about the situation began to grow.

After a few weeks of nothing happening we started falling back into our normal routines. When Severus announced that we were to begin dueling I was overjoyed. I enjoyed dueling and was looking forward to showing all my classmates up. The first duel was to take place in the Great Hall that evening. I entered in with Hermione, Ron, Harry (thankfully fully recovered) and Neville.

"I wonder who'll be teaching us?" said Hermione as we edged into the chattering crowd. "Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young — maybe it'll be him."

"As long as it's not —" Harry began, but he ended on a groan: Gilderoy Lockhart was walking onto the stage, resplendent in robes of deep plum and accompanied by Severus, wearing his usual black.

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent! Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions — for full details, see my published works.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry — you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

I rolled my eyes. What a phony. Glancing at Hermione, I could see she was buying it.

Lockhart and Severus turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Professor Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Harry murmured, pointing at Snape, who was baring his teeth.

"One — two — three —"

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Severus cried: "Expelliarmus!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Draco and some of the other Slytherins cheered. I couldn't help but join them with a whoop of my own. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes. "Do you think he's all right?" she squealed through her fingers. I shook my head at her.

"Who cares?" said Harry and Ron together. I had to agree.

Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

"Well, there you have it!" he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm — as you see, I've lost my wand — ah, thank you, Miss Brown — yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy — however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see…"

Severus was looking murderous. Possibly Lockhart had noticed, because he said, "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me —"

They moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin Finch-Fletchley, but Snape reached Harry and Ron first.

"Time to split up the dream team, I think," he sneered. "Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Potter —"

Harry moved automatically toward me.

"I don't think so," said Severus, smiling coldly. "Miss Black would take it easy on you. Mr. Malfoy, come over here. Let's see what you make of the famous Potter. Miss Granger — you can partner Miss Bulstrode. Miss Black, Miss Parkinson." I stopped myself from groaning as the Slytherins in question strutted over. Pansy, of course, was draped over Draco. Gag. He pushed her off and stood in front of Harry, ready to face off. Pansy pouted and came to stand in front of me.

"Face your partners!" called Lockhart, back on the platform. "And bow!"

I bowed respectfully, as I'd been taught. Pansy gave a girly curtsy that set my teeth on edge.

"Wands at the ready!" shouted Lockhart. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents — only to disarm them — we don't want any accidents — one… two… three —"

I shot an easy disarming jinx at Pansy and then watched Draco and Harry.

Draco struck early, hitting Harry with a jinx. He stumbled but then Harry pointed his wand straight at Draco and shouted, " _Rictusempra!_ "

A jet of silver light hit Malfoy in the stomach and he doubled up, wheezing.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shouted in alarm over the heads of the battling crowd, as Malfoy sank to his knees; Harry had hit him with a Tickling Charm, and he could barely move for laughing. Then, gasping for breath, Draco pointed his wand at Harry's knees, choked, " _Tarantallegra_!" and the next second Harry's legs began to jerk around out of his control in a kind of quickstep.

"Stop! Stop!" screamed Lockhart, but Snape took charge. "Finite Incantatem!" he shouted; Harry's feet stopped dancing, Draco stopped laughing, and they were able to look up.

A haze of greenish smoke was hovering over the scene. Both Neville and Justin were lying on the floor, panting; Ron was holding up an ashen-faced Seamus, apologizing for whatever his broken wand had done; but Hermione and Millicent Bulstrode were still moving; Millicent had Hermione in a headlock and Hermione was whimpering in pain; both their wands lay forgotten on the floor. Harry leapt forward and tried to pull Millicent off. I moved to help. What a barbarian.

"Dear, dear," said Lockhart, skittering through the crowd, looking at the aftermath of the duels. "Up you go, Macmillan…"

"Careful there, Miss Fawcett… Pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second,"

"I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells," said Lockhart, standing flustered in the midst of the hall. He glanced at Severus, whose black eyes glinted, and looked quickly away. "Let's have a volunteer pair — Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you —"

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," said Professor Snape, gliding over like a large and malevolent bat. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Neville's round, pink face went pinker. "How about Malfoy and Potter?" he said with a twisted smile.

"Excellent idea!" said Lockhart, gesturing Harry and Draco into the middle of the hall as the crowd backed away to give them room. I grew nervous, what was Severus thinking?

"Now, Harry," said Lockhart. "When Draco points his wand at you, you do this."

He raised his own wand, attempted a complicated sort of wiggling action, and dropped it. Severus smirked as Lockhart quickly picked it up, saying, "Whoops— my wand is a little overexcited—"

Severus moved closer to Draco, bent down, and whispered something in his ear. Draco smirked, too. One of them was going to end up in the hospital wing after this was all over, I just knew it.

"Three — two — one — go!" Lockhart shouted.

Draco raised his wand quickly and bellowed, " _Serpensortia_!"

The end of his wand exploded. A long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between the two of them, and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor.

"Don't move, Potter," said Severus"I'll get rid of it…"

"Allow me!" shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight toward Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.

Harry moved towards the snake and hissed at it. The snake seemed to contemplate for a moment before backing away. Then he looked up at Justin, grinning.

"What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted, and before Harry could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the hall.

Severus stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Severus, too, was looking at Harry in an unexpected way: It was a shrewd and calculating look. I knew what he was thinking. Harry spoke Parseltongue.

"Come on," said Ron told Harry. "Move — come on —"

Ron steered him out of the hall, Hermione and I hurrying alongside them. As we went through the doors, the people on either side drew away as though they were frightened of catching something. We dragged him all the way up to the empty Gryffindor common room.

Then Ron pushed Harry into an armchair and said, "You're a Parselmouth. Why didn't you tell

us?"

"I'm a what?" said Harry.

"A Parselmouth!" said Ron. "You can talk to snakes!"

"I know," said Harry. "I mean, that's only the second time I've ever done it. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once — long story — but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to that was before I knew I was a wizard —"

"A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?" Ron repeated faintly.

"So?" said Harry. "I bet loads of people here can do it."

"Oh, no they can't," said Ron. "It's not a very common gift. Harry, this is bad."

"What's bad?" said Harry, starting to feel quite angry. "What's wrong with everyone? Listen, if I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin —"

"Oh, that's what you said to it?"

"What d'you mean? You were there — you heard me —"

"I heard you speaking Parseltongue," said Ron. "Snake language. You could have been saying anything — no wonder Justin panicked, you sounded like you were egging the snake on or something — it was creepy, you know —"

Harry gaped at him.

"I spoke a different language? But — I didn't realize — how can I speak a language without knowing I can speak it?"

Ron shook his head. I couldn't help a little bit of worry showing on my face. Harry seemed to see it and he gulped.

"D'you want to tell me what's wrong with stopping a massive snake biting off Justin's head?" he said. "What does it matter how I did it as long as Justin doesn't have to join the Headless Hunt?"

"It matters," said Hermione, speaking at last in a hushed voice, "because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent."

Harry's mouth fell open.

"Exactly," said Ron. "And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great-great-grandson or something —"

"But I'm not," said Harry, with a panic he couldn't quite explain.

"You'll find that hard to prove," said Hermione. "He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be."

I knew how Harry felt. People had been blaming me this whole time, because of my father. But it was a little strange that he could speak Parseltongue. It seemed like too much to be another coincidence.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone. I've been in a bit of a writing kick lately. To be honest, it was difficult to make it through these last few chapters to get to the interesting stuff. I know it's a little dry, just try and stick with me. This is the last chapter before we get to POA. Please, please, please, any feedback you can give me will help me greatly, that's the whole point of this. I want it all, the good, the bad and the ugly. So lay it on me guys, do you like the direction is going, is there anything about Elizabeth that really irritates you? I know how it feels to try to identify with a character that just has one thing about them that really irritates me. Just let me know. As always, I own nothing.**

As Christmas grew closer, people started to get more and more antsy about the monster under the school, whatever it was that was petrifying students. I was concerned, more for Harry's sake. He wasn't taking well to being public enemy number one. I did my best to cheer him up and accompany him whenever everyone else strayed away but the people who did the most good were the Weasley twins. Most people thought the twins were walking, talking jokes but I knew they were more than that. They put up a front but I saw the way they were deadly serious about Quidditch, their family and their friends. It made me respect them a little bit more. They're far more pleasant than Ron to say the least, and leaps and bounds better than Percy the Snob. As for Ginny, the sweet, fun loving little girl I met at the beginning of the year seemed like a shell of herself. Now she was always anxious and sensitive. She seemed emotionally unstable.

Draco got a letter a week before the holidays began stating that his parents were going on a business trip over the break and therefore we had to stay at the castle. Draco put on a brave front but I knew he was upset. The Chamber of Secrets frightened him, as it rightly should. And with fewer students to munch on, the monster might not be as choosy with his meals as he was before. Purebloods like Draco, and especially half-bloods like Harry and me were at greater risk than before. Not to mention, I think Hermione is the last muggle born to be left over the holidays. I almost debated telling her she should go home for Christmas, for her own safety, but I knew she wouldn't take that well. And Ron would call me a Purist toad. Still, it sat heavily in my gut, the thought of something happening to her when I could have done something about it.

I spent Christmas with Draco, as I did every year. There weren't too many Slytherin's left behind to complain about my presence in the dungeons, bar Crabbe and Goyle. But their gripes were made intelligible by their inability to communicate an actual thought so it didn't make too much difference to me. In the morning we opened presents then we went out to the pitch to ride our brooms like we usually did. This Christmas I was surprised to get such a thoughtful gift like a usually did from Theo, because we hadn't talked much most of the year and Draco told me had a girlfriend, some third year Ravenclaw, occupying his time. So it caught me by surprise when he sent me a post card from the country he was visiting that holiday, Romania, and a diamond bracelet (real of course, I mean it's Theo we're talking about) enchanted with a protection charm. And then, also to my surprise, I received my usual anonymous gift. This time it wasn't a priceless heirloom, instead it was a beautiful hand stitched gown that looked fit for royalty.

I was astounded every year by the thoughtfulness of my handful of friends and family. They weren't large in quantity but they were in quality. Christmas at the castle was actually almost preferable to being home. We had free reign to do as we pleased, stay out as long as we liked. It was heaven. Following Christmas supper, I watched from across the room as Hermione and her band of misfits squirreled out of the Great Hall to do Merlin only knew what. Mischief of course.

"Do you feel like playing a game of chess down in the dungeon?" I asked Draco.

Relishing the challenge, and the almost assured victory (he was a slightly better player than I), my cousin agreed easily and we made our way down to the dungeons.

"Shall we place a wager on this game?" Draco drawled as we set up the board. I smiled.

"If I win, you have to sit at the Gryffindor table for the rest of the holidays." I told him. Draco balked for a moment and then his usual sneer occupied his face once again.

"Fine. If I win…" He thought about it for a moment. "You have to carry my books for the rest of the year."

"The entire year?! We don't have all the same classes!"

"Well then I guess you're going to be late to some of your classes." He said smugly.

I glared at him before relenting. "Fine, deal." And so the game began.

"Did I show you what Father sent me this morning?" Draco asked as I pondered over my next move. He wore an evil smirk on his face and so I knew he was trying to distract me.

"No, nor do I care." I told him vaguely, trying to concentrate on the pieces in front of me. I couldn't determine the intention of his last move and it was driving me bonkers.

"How about you, Crabbe, Goyle, shall I read it to you? Lord knows you're too daft to read yourselves." Draco drawled. I shot him an irritated look. To be honest, I hadn't even heard Crabbe and Goyle come in, they must have floated in on the coattails of the fifth year Slytherin that had walked by them a few minutes prior. I knew Draco was only being rude because he wanted to read the letter out loud to distract me.

"Your jockeys can read just fine." I rolled my eyes at him.

Draco pretended not to hear me and read aloud,

" _INQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC_

 _Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car._

 _Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley's resignation. "Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute," Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. "He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately."_

 _Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she'd set the family ghoul on them._

"Well?" Draco asked when he was through, aiming the question at all of us. "Don't you think it's funny?"

"Ha, ha," said Goyle bleakly.

"Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them," said Draco scornfully. "You'd never know the Weasleys were pure-bloods, the way they behave."

"You shouldn't say those kinds of things, Draco. The Weasleys are more pureblood than I am."

"At least you look and act like a pureblood. The Weasleys are no good, poor, dirty slobs."

Crabbe's face was contorted with fury. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I'd never seen Crabbe wear so much as an ounce of emotion on his face. Nor had he ever cared for the Weasleys.

"What's up with you, Crabbe?" snapped Draco.

"Stomachache," Crabbe grunted. I peered at him a moment. The Polyjuice potion! He must be Ron or Harry. I almost laughed then.

"Well, go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick from me," said Draco, snickering. He was being especially nasty today. "You know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't reported all these attacks yet," he went on thoughtfully. "I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. He'll be sacked if it doesn't stop soon. Father's always said old Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to this place. He loves Muggle-borns. A decent headmaster would never've let slime like that Creevey in."

Draco started taking pictures with an imaginary camera and did a cruel but accurate impression of Colin: "'Potter, can I have your picture, Potter? Can I have your autograph? Can I lick your shoes, please, Potter?"'

He dropped his hands and looked at what I thought may be Harry and Ron.

"What's the matter with you two?"

Far too late, Harry and Ron forced themselves to laugh, but Draco seemed satisfied.

"Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend," said Draco slowly. "He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped up Granger Mudblood. And people think he's Slytherin's heir! I wish I knew who it is," said Draco petulantly. "I could help them."

"You don't mean that, Draco." I scolded and moved my chess piece finally.

Crabbe looked even more clueless than usual. And Goyle said, "You must have some idea who's behind it all…"

"You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?" snapped Draco. "And Father won't tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and it'll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing — last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time… I hope it's Granger," he said with relish.

Shooting Crabbe a warning look, Goyle said, "D'you know if the person who opened the Chamber last time was caught?"

"Oh, yeah… whoever it was was expelled," said Draco. "They're probably still in Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" said Goyle, puzzled. I assumed this must be Harry. If he didn't know who my father was, he probably didn't know what Azkaban was. I felt a twang of guilt in my chest. The feeling I used to carry all the time when I first met Harry but not only surfaced every now and then.

"Azkaban — the wizard prison, Goyle," said Draco, looking at him in disbelief "Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backward."

He shifted restlessly in his chair and said, "Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says the school needs ridding of all the Mudblood filth, but not to get mixed up in it. Of course, he's got a lot on his plate at the moment. You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor last week?"

Goyle's dull face somewhat molded into a look of concern, and then he glanced at me and frowned, mirroring my own expression. I hadn't known this.

"Yeah…" said Draco. "Luckily, they didn't find much. Father's got some very valuable Dark Arts stuff. But luckily, we've got our own secret chamber under the drawing-room floor —"

"Ho!" I said loudly, then faked a sneeze. As much as I loved and respected Harry, they didn't need to be told all of our family's secrets. Also, Crabbe's hair was starting to turn red and a scar was starting to appear on Goyle's forehead. "I made my move, Draco. It's time to make yours. Crabbe you look like you're about to throw up. Goyle, you should take him to the hospital wing." When they continued to stare at me I added, "Now."

Seeming to understand, they both jumped to their feet then they sprinted the length of the Slytherin common room, hurled themselves at the stone wall, and dashed up the passage.

Turning to Draco, I said, "I can't believe you didn't tell me our house was raided."

"Elizabeth-" Draco protested.

"Save it. I forfeit. I'll carry your books for the rest of the year." I told him and then spun out of the dungeon. I hurried to catch up with dumb and dumber before they disappeared.

I found them fully changed back to themselves, stumbling over their robes up the stairs. "Seriously," I called out. "That was your genius plan to find the Heir?"

"That's rich coming from you." Ron spun around. "I knew you were just like them, just putting on a front."

"What are you talking about?"

"You just sat there while Malfoy said all those nasty things about my family. You agree with him don't you?!" He spat at me. "You think you're better than me but you're not."

"Is that really what you think of me?" I asked calmly after he stopped panting.

"Yeah, yeah it is. I think you're a spoiled, rich, pureblood wannabe brat who cares only about herself. You should have been a Slytherin because you're certainly not a Gryffindor. Come on, Harry." Ron dragged Harry by the arm, the latter looking dumbstruck and unsure what to do. With a sympathetic glance back at me, he followed Ron to whatever hidey hole they've taken shelter in lately.

I spent the rest of the rest of the holidays, and most of the rest of the semester, avoiding all of them. I took to spending time with Neville. It had taken a little while to get over the awkwardness of our summer experience together but once Neville told me his parents were doing fine and that they even asked about me from time to time, I relaxed a little bit and we fell back into the comfortable friendship we had before. We spent most of the time studying for exams and practicing Quidditch. I had Neville keep time for me as I raced around the Quidditch pitch. He was a good sport, chasing the ball after I threw it and attempting to help with some of my plays.

After a busy day of Quidditch, preparing for the match that would decide the house cup, and then a late night studying, I fell asleep in the common room one night, near the end of the year. I was suddenly woken up by something. It took me a moment to focus and be able to see in the dark then I saw, what appeared to be Ginny, walking through the port hole.

"Ginny?" I asked and followed her. She didn't seem to hear me, just walking mindlessly down the corridors like a zombie. Was this what was making her tired all the time, sleep walking?

I thought back to what little I knew about sleep walkers. They say not to wake them up, that it could startle them and be unsafe. I think we're supposed to just make sure they don't walk into any unsafe situation and wait for them to wake up on their own.

I followed Ginny through the corridors all the way up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. What an odd place to take a nighttime stroll to. Looking around to make sure we won't be followed, I followed Ginny into the bathroom, where I found her crouched by the sink whispering. Creeping closer, I was about to speak to her when I realized what she was doing. She was speaking Parseltongue! Since when are Ginny AND Harry Parseltongues? Before I could really react to the new information, the sink Ginny was kneeling in front of slid open.

Staring in shock, I watched as Ginny jumped through the hole in the sink without hesitation. What in the… It took me a few moments of trying to control my breathing to make a decision. I knew I should go in after her but… I just didn't understand. Was this the Chamber of Secrets? Was Ginny responsible for opening it? There's no way. After a few more breaths to calm myself, I knew what I had to do.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew." I complained, lowering myself into the chamber. With one final prayer I let go and slid down an elaborate, slimy, nasty slide of some sort before landing on the bottom. At the bottom there were bones, rocks and a massive snake skin. I stared at the snake skin in horror. I knew what the monster was. It was starting to make sense. A massive snake that petrified people and crawled through the castle at night.

Basilisk.

I tried thinking on what I had learned about Basilisks. It wasn't a monster we were supposed to cover until third or fourth year. But I knew what they were, I just had to remember…

The eyes! Looking into the eyes of a basilisk meant certain death. I thanked Severus at that moment because it was him who taught me about them. Well, not basilisks specifically, but we were going over different potions for antivenom and he had explained that one of the strongest venoms known to wizard kind was the Basilisk venom and that there was only one antivenom. Phoenix tears.

I needed to stop stalling. I knew what I was up against, somewhat. It was time to find Ginny and figure out how she was involved in all this. I got the feeling she was in danger. I really should have gone for a teacher.

It took me a while of sprinting to catch up to Ginny at her zombie-like pace. I managed to barely slip through the door she was going through and snuck in after her. On the other side of the door was a large atrium. It had a small pool of water that looked like leakage from one of the pipes running around it. The entire area gave an ominous feel.

As I was looking around, Ginny turned towards me. Her eyes were hazy and her posture was stiff. I ran to her, grabbing her by her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"Ginny, listen to me, can you hear me? I need you to come back, it's not safe here." I pleaded with her desperately. I pulled put my wand and she snatched it out of my hand and pointed hers at me. "Ginny? What are you doing? What's going on?"

"The Heir of Slytherin will rise once again." She said.

"I don't understand." I took a step back from her but she followed.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"You know who I am, Ginny. It's Elizabeth." I was near hysterics at this point. I was so foolish. What had possessed me to follow her into a gaping hole in the ground.

"What's your surname, Elizabeth?"

"Black." I managed, trying my best to maintain some semblance of strength when really all I wanted to do was run away and cry.

"Elizabeth Black. Noble house, the Black house. You would do well to join me in my effort."

"What effort is that? Who are you?"

The laugh Ginny gave was creepy and unnatural, one that clearly didn't belong to her. "I am Tom Riddle. You may know me as Lord Voldemort."

I stumbled back, tripping and falling on my butt onto the damp ground.

"I've been using poor, sweet little Ginny to continue what I had been trying to do during my life, that is rid the Wizarding world of the impure and undeserving. She's been the perfect help," He said almost fondly. "It's too bad she's going to die."

"No!" I yelled and jumped to my feet but Ginny, Lord Voldemort, was quick to brandish their wand and shot a stunning jinx at me. I flew back but after a second, was able to recover and reached for my wand. I shot a disarming jinx at Ginny but she deflected it easily.

"It's truly a shame," She crouched over me with a menacing look at me. "You could have done great things at my side, like your family before me. You leave me with no other choice." Then she whispered something is parseltongue. I quickly shut my eyes and shuffled to the side, wand held before me. I did my best to listen to what was happening. Lord Voldemort was cackling with Ginny's voice, enjoying this game, water was dropping from the ceiling, and then… slithering. I gulped.

The slithering grew louder and louder until I heard a massive plunk! The basilisk seemed to have dropped into the chamber. I opened my eyes just a fraction, keeping them pointed at the water at me feet to watch for the monster's shape. When I could see its scales in the corner of the puddle, I turned quickly and brandished my wand. "Confrigo!" I shouted and the Basilisk reared back but it wasn't enough to take it out. In fact, it only made it angry I could hear it charge at me. I ran quickly in the other direction. "Expulso!" I yelled over my shoulder, aiming my wand wildly, trying not to get Ginny caught in the crossfire. The massive snake reared at me again. I continued this pattern of ducking, diving, sprinting, and sending curse after curse at the Basilisk but nothing was working. Caught up in the frustration and adrenaline of the moment, I realized a second too late, I had been staring in the puddle in front of me too long.

I felt all my muscles contract and I fell to the ground, stiff as a board. I'd failed. Ginny was counting on me and I had failed her. I couldn't see how anyone could know where we'd be gone. We'd be stuck down here forever, Ginny dead and myself in a state of comatose until one day I'd be dead too.

I don't know what happened, I couldn't hear, see or feel anything. The state I was stuck in, held in my consciousness with no concept of time or anything else but my own stream of consciousness was maddening. I could feel myself start to lose my mind. When I could feel myself slipping I tried to maintain my sanity by thinking of all the people I loved, picturing their faces in my mind. I thought of Draco, and my aunt and uncle, Severus, Harry, Theo, Neville, Hermione, even the Weasleys, every single one of them. My mind strayed to my mother, trying to remember what she looked like in the one photo I had of her. I tried to imagine which features of mine came from her. I tried not to think of Ginny. I failed, over and over.

Coming to was like waking from a terrible nightmare. I wasn't sure whether it was real or if I had gone really and truly insane. I was lying in the hospital wing, Draco and Theo on either side of me. Draco was fast asleep but Theo was staring into the abyss. I tried to sit up but got a little lightheaded so I laid back down. Theo turned to me and his face broke into a grin.

"Are you real?" I rasped. Theo didn't answer, only threw himself onto me in a dramatic display of affection, waking Draco up and making me slightly uncomfortable and yet oddly content at the same time.

"Yes, I'm real. Thank Merlin you're okay."

"Ginny?" I asked, almost afraid to.

"Ginny's okay. She was pretty bad off, so was Potter, but they're okay."

"Harry was there?" I asked, confused.

"He's the one that came to save you guys." Draco grumbled.

"Of course he was." I fell back against my pillow, exhausted despite having just slept for who knows how long. "He probably nearly died in the process too, but gallantly rode to our rescue anyways."

"Sounds about right." Theo chuckled. "But that doesn't sound like your MO. What were you doing down their anyways?"

I scratched my arm distractedly. "I followed Ginny."

"You followed the Weasley girl down into the Chamber of Secrets? Why?" Draco demanded.

I shrugged. I couldn't find a good enough reason to give him, not good enough for him anyways, but looking back at it, I knew I was doing the only thing I could. Maybe this was what Harry felt every time he rushed into danger, he was just a little bit better at it than I was. This felt different than following Severus through the chambers to get to the Sorcerer's Stone. I felt a lot dumber this time. I was really unprepared. When faced with a real challenge, I choked. I couldn't hold my own. And that was unacceptable.

"What was it like?" Theo asked after a while. "Being petrified?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I resisted the urge to shudder. I didn't want to think about it, ever again.

I joined everyone at the feast at the end of the year. Spotting Ginny, I made a direct line to her.

"Ginny," I breathed, relief overwhelming me. It was one thing to hear she was fine but another to see it. Part of me was a little hesitant. The last time I'd seen Ginny she was trying to kill me. I knew it wasn't her but it was hard to reconcile the two images in my head.

Ginny gave a small, shy smile. "I'm glad to see you're okay. When I came to in the Chamber I thought… I thought you were dead."

"Me too." I admitted. "Did… Lord Vol- you know who…" I didn't know how to finish my sentence.

"Harry killed him." Ginny said.

"I don't understand what happened." I told her.

"Part of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was trapped in the diary. He was using me to…" Ginny cringed and I put a hand on her arm.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me. I know enough."

"If you don't mind my asking, what were you doing down there?" Ginny asked shyly.

"I followed you, when you were in your zombie state. I thought you were sleep walking, but after I watched you open the Chamber, I knew you were in trouble. I need to work on my rescuing skills a little bit." I scratched my elbow uncomfortably.

"You came into the Chamber of Secrets for me?" Ginny asked with wide eyes. I nodded uncomfortably then the smaller girl threw her arms around my waist. Despite my failed attempt to be helpful, I think this traumatizing experience was the start of a bond between the two of us. I felt more kinship with Ginny than any of the other Weasleys thus far.

Harry joined us a little later, distraught about something. He sat down next to me at the table.

"I owe you another life debt." I told him.

"Call this even, from you saving me first year." He said humbly.

"I told you-" I began to protest but Harry shook his head.

"I was there. I know you came to get me then, just like you went to get Ginny."

"Didn't do much good, either time." I grumbled.

"If it wasn't for you, Voldemort might have killed her right away." He told me encouragingly. I didn't think he was right but it was a nice thought, not that I needed to be a hero. The only thing that mattered was that Ginny was okay and no more students were hurt. But I still felt helpless and I didn't relish the feeling.

The one good thing that came out of that night was that Gilderoy Lockhart was, thankfully, let go from his position.

When I arrived home on summer break the first thing I did was order a whole bunch of books on defensive and attack spells. I would never be as prepared as I was the last time. I spent the entire first month of the break practicing what I was learning with a determination that bordered obsession. Draco complained loudly and often. He told me I wouldn't make the Quidditch team third year because I was spending so much time holed up in my room instead of practicing on a broom. After a month, he pulled a low move.

I was buried in a pile of books in my room, as I had been the majority of the last few weeks, when someone opened my door.

"Could you knock?" I barked out. In my defense, I was just about to be a teenager. The trespasser should know better.

"Ouch, Queen Bitch. You act like you're not happy to see me." Said a smooth voice.

"Theo!" I leapt up and threw my arms around him. Theo greeted me back with a smile and a hug.

"Now that's the kind of welcome I expect from my fiancé." He teased. I blushed and elbowed him in the ribs.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I was sent an SOS to get you out of your room."

"Who told you, Draco?" It wasn't really a question. Who else was there? Theo shrugged noncommittedly.

"Regardless, I have a proposition for you. My father and I are going to America for the rest of the holidays, we've got business with some prominent figures in the American Ministry, well my father does anyways. I thought maybe me and you could go back to New York, see what it looks like without all the snow."

"Don't you know what New York looks like without snow?"

"Yes, but you don't."

I hesitated. Part of me really wanted to go, but I looked back at my stack of books. "I don't know that I should go. I've got a lot to do here."

Theo walked further into my room and picked up a book off the ground.

"What exactly is it you're doing?" He asked, reading the title.

I toed the carpet sheepishly. "I'm brushing up on my spellwork."

"Dueling spells?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, after last year…"

"You've got to forget about last year, Elizabeth. Move on. It's over. You did the best you could."

"That's the point, Theo. I did the best I could and my best wasn't good enough so I need to do better."

"Elizabeth, you faced a Basilisk and lived to tell about it, that's more than most people can say."

"Well, Harry Potter-"

"I don't give a damn about Harry Potter. I give a damn about you. Now pack a bag or you're spending three weeks wearing what you've got on."

I glanced down at my grubby sweatpants and t-shirt and grimaced. I'd taken to wearing loose fitting clothing because my clothes were starting to not fit very well, mostly in the chest and hips. I feared puberty like a masked foe. It was creeping up on me and I was terrified of when it would hit me full force. I had gotten my first womanly episode shortly after arriving home and since then it feels like I'm growing on almost a daily basis. I've been getting taller and… curvier. It was embarrassing and so I'd taken to wearing loose clothing, going so far as to steal some from Draco.

But as I packed my bag, I packed normal clothing. I made sure to include a few muggle outfits as well. I didn't know how well I would fit in but I figured it was better than wearing robes down a busy muggle street. Once I was packed, I checked with Aunt Narcissa. Of course, she was okay with it. She would have been happy if Theo and I were leaving to elope, never mind I was only 12 and he 13.

"I have a surprise for you." Theo said after we'd been in America for a few weeks. We went on a grand trip, seeing New York (which was much warmer than the last time I'd visited), as well as LA, San Francisco, and San Diego. Mr. Nott was much more accommodating than I ever imagined, taking us sight seeing all throughout the grand country. Finally, we came to stop in Washington DC which was Mr. Nott's true destination. Theo and I were left mostly to our own devices.

"What's that?" I asked around a yawn, stretching my arms above my head. Theo stared at me for a moment, almost as if confused.

"Are you alright there?" I asked, sitting up and throwing a robe on over my jammies.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He said, shaking himself.

"This surprise?" I asked as I walked into the bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face to wake myself up and pulled m hair back into a ponytail. It was starting to get really long. I used to cut it every six months but I hadn't cut it since I'd started school and now it was starting to hang low at my back.

"I've set up a meeting with someone." Theo told my reflection in the mirror. I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Who?"

"It's a surprise. Come on get dressed or we're going to be late." He snapped his fingers jokingly. I shooed him out and did as he asked. Less than an hour later I found myself standing outside of a normal muggle residence. I shot a look at Theo but he only smiled and rang the door bell.

The person who answered was a short balding man who appeared to be in his mid to late 50's. He wore wizarding clothes and had a slight humpback.

"Theodore Nott?" The man asked. Theo nodded and the man led us in to the house. The exterior did, in no way, match the interior of the house. The interior was clearly that of a Wizard. Charmed objects zipped about the house, paintings talked and laughed together. The grandfather clock span twice as fast as any normal clock.

The old man led us through the house to the back where we arrived at what looked like a training studio of sorts.

"Elizabeth, I'd like to introduce you to Auror Stanley. The top dueling teacher in all of America." Theo introduced with a grand flourish. My jaw dropped to the floor. I spent the next two hours getting my butt handed to me but the spells I learned were invaluable, advanced spells that they don't even teach in schools. I wish I could come back and learn from him every day. But alas, our vacation was coming to an end. Theo, saint that he was, agreed to practice the spells we'd learned together and I was starting to feel much more sure of myself than I had felt at the start of summer.

When we arrived back home I ran straight to Draco's room, excited to tell him all that I had learned but when I came into my room he looked up from what was in his hands and stared at me with wide, terrified eyes.

"What is it Draco?" I asked and he handed me the parchment from his hands. Looking down I read the title, 'Sirius Black Escapes from Azkaban.'


End file.
